


Big Sister Fujioka: Manga Edition!

by hostclubmanager17



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Canon - Manga, F/M, Nonbinary Haruhi, Same story new media, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:25:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 52,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9611378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hostclubmanager17/pseuds/hostclubmanager17
Summary: The Host Club was entertaining with just ONE Fujioka girl, but what would've happened if there had been TWO? Back by popular demand, come meet Jin Fujioka for a second time as she and her little sister, Haruhi, turn the Host Club on its head!Rating may change





	1. Episode 1!

**Author's Note:**

> Holy crap I'm actually doing this! I must be insane! But I guess I can't help it, I just love Jin Fujioka so much… And apparently my readers do, too!  
> So, here's the deal. There are going to be quite a few differences in this story compared to the Anime version. And since there is significantly more content in the Manga, I will not be adding chapters in between each 'episode'. Most likely, all of my extra side stories will latch onto a chapter and I'll weave the two together. (Also... I may change this story to... 'M' rated in the future. Just a heads up.) And, like with all the other characters, Jin is going to have a few differences in her character here and there. But I hope that you all like this story just as much as the first one.  
> Special thanks to all of my readers who encouraged me to write this! I never would've gotten this far without you!

 

The halls of Ouran Academy were quiet, most of the students holed up in different rooms across campus. Of course, the  _ insides _ of those libraries, club rooms, and the like were quite loud in contrast. In the high school building, which stood tall and proud in the mid-spring sunlight, there was only one student who wasn't indulging in the quaint little talks taking place between her fellow students.

_ Darn it! Four libraries, and this place is  _ still  _ too crowded! _ Haruhi scowled and muttered to herself as she speed walked around the top floor of the South Wing. Not even a full minute ago she had shut the doors on yet another promising study location that fell flat, and was now resorting to her last option, an empty classroom.

Of course, that wasn't going very well, either. She sighed heavily and kept walking.

Passing a pair of doors with violin notes dancing out from between the cracks, the girl continued to complain harshly in her mind.  _ I mean, if you don't want to study, just go home! Is everyone here just coasting? _

Suddenly, a voice different from her own slipped into her mind,  _ Oh, come on, Haru! No need to be so sharp! Just because you can't see them studying doesn't mean they aren't doing it at all! And besides, you've got a lot riding on your study habits, they don't. _

The voice, even if it was only imaginary at the moment, still managed to ease the muscles in Haruhi's shoulders, pushing the tension down her arms and out her fingertips. Sighing with less force than the last time, she managed a smile. There was sunlight gently floating through the large windows she was passing, and she appreciated the warmth up until she passed the glass.

_ Whatever I might have to say about the people currently in the school, the people who designed it definitely knew what they were doing… Where am I? _

Pulling out the map she had tucked in her pant's pocket, she tried to figure out where she had ended up. It would be pointless for her to find the perfect place to study if she could never find it again.

_ Let's see… there's the library I just checked. Then I went up that flight of stairs… took a right, and another right… aha! I could see the clock tower out of those windows! Right… looks like these are just all music rooms. Explains the violins I heard earlier. _

The brunette looked up from her map and found herself staring up at two fairly large doors. They were painted white, like all the other doors in the school, but she couldn't hear any noise behind them. The first quiet room she had passed all day.

Crossing her fingers on her right hand, she gripped the door handle with her left and pulled it open.  _ Please, don't let anyone be in here… I mean, no one could be  _ that _ quiet, right? _

Wrong.

"Welcome!"

Seeing six men sitting in a beautifully architectured room that she had expected to be empty was a shock enough, but make those six boys  _ extremely handsome? _ It's a miracle Haruhi's heart didn't stop then and there.

Of course, her knees almost gave out all the same, and she had to turn around and clutch at the door knob to keep standing.  _ Oh geez! Oh geez! Men!  _ Good-looking  _ men! Oh gosh! Wait… when did I close the door?! _

Behind her, she heard two voices 'hmph' in unison, "It's only a guy. We  _ told _ you the girls never come in this early."

"Hey, zip it! Men are valuable patrons, too!"

"They are?"

"Indeed." Haruhi's breath caught in her lungs. The third voice was now directly behind her. "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club, Haruhi Fujioka. You're the scholarship student, aren't you? You are a rare creature in this place."

"Huh?" Her confusion for the tall blond's words briefly overrode the utter  _ shock _ of stumbling into a Host Club, of all things, "Um… I'm a what?"

Another boy who was still standing by the chair the blond recently vacated readjusted his glasses before speaking up, "It is my determination that Common Folk such as yourself don't easily fit into our elegant culture here at Ouran. As a scholarship student, you must have a pretty thick skin and mulish stubbornness just to make it through the entrance exam process, let alone achieve anything while you're a student here. After all," he chuckled, "If no one  _ knows _ you, it's an uphill climb to get noticed, know what I mean?"

Instantly, all of the attraction Haruhi  _ might _ have felt at seeing their appearances went down the drain.  _ Wow, it's like the opposite of a geode. Pretty and shiny on the outside, but the inside is hard and unappealing. Lord help anyone they sweet talk  _ before  _ showing their true colors... _

"Yes! Exactly! You're a trail-blazer, Haruhi Fujioka!" The blond was grabbing her harshly by her shoulders, his face suddenly far too close for comfort, and she was unable to stifle a squeak.  _ What is  _ with _ these boys? _ "Welcome, Pauper, to the Realm of Wealth! Top student in your class, and yet you're poorer than a church mouse. Some may call you a weed, or despise your low-class status, not that there's anything wrong with poverty, of course, and yet here you are! You're a true crusader, with a reckless heart!"

Haruhi's mouth was hanging open just a bit, which was all well and good, because if she allowed her lips to move they'd probably form a sentence she'd regret. So far, the only shred of intelligence she'd seen from these boys was from that glasses-wearing boy when he explained the atmosphere of Ouran in comparison to what she was probably used to... and he'd spent a good portion of that paragraph insulting her. It was underwhelming, to say the least.

And the blond beside her  _ still _ wasn't done.

"Of course... we had heard the rumor that you're a man lover...But we hadn't expected you to come forward so soon!"

Haruhi's back went ramrod straight, "A  _ what? _ "

"So, what's your type? We have a wide selection here for you to enjoy! Do you prefer the 'Wild' type? Boy Lolita? Or..." Haruhi felt a hand cup at her chin, stroking at the soft skin lining her throat before steering her face up to his, like he was about to kiss her, "Am  _ I _ more your speed?"

"No! It's not like that!" Haruhi's protests were coming out like air escaping a tire, high pitched and narrow sounding, yet desperate. She jumped away from the crazy blond, only to bump into the other one. The really short boy.

He latched himself onto her right arm and started babbling, "Are you really a crusader, Haru-chan? That's so cool! Do you have tales of rescuing princesses? I'd love to-"

" _ What's with the -chan? _ "

The boy took a frantic step back, tears in his eyes that started to jerk at her heart. Feeling her anxiety climbing to peak level, Haruhi started stumbling towards the door, attempting to keep her eyes on the tall blond in front of her, lest he try to grab her again, "Look, I was just trying to find a  _ quiet place _ to  _ study! _ Clearly that's not here, so if you would please  _ excuse _ me-"

_ CRAAASH! _

The room took in a collective breath as they stared at the pile of shards on the floor. All of the blood in Haruhi's body dropped to her toes.  _ Did... did I do that? _

"Oh dear..." it was one of the twins. In the back of her panic-swamped mind, Haruhi realized she recognized them, "That vase was by rune. It was supposed to be the featured item in the next school auction."

"The bidding was going to start at $80,000, but I have a feeling it won't fetch that now... Welp, there went our starting funds for the club this year."

Haruhi's ears had stopped registering words when the second twin mentioned the  _ price,  _ "$80,000? You... you just had that laying around?" The twins leveled a glare at her, so she quickly added on, "I'll pay for it! I'm so sorry!"

"Oh,  _ you'll _ pay for it. Right, sure you will."

"You can't even afford a school uniform, but you'll hand over that $80,000 you just flushed down the drain without a problem."

With each word, Haruhi felt like more and more of her existence was deteriorating.  _ How much can my internal organs go for, again? How much is a kidney?  _ Back at the chair they'd been posing around earlier, the tall blond had collapsed onto the cushion, looking almost disappointed. The glasses wearing boy was holding a shard of the vase, examining it like it was somehow more interesting now than when it had had a starting value of $80,000.

The brunette gulped when the two of them stopped whispering to each other and refocused on her, "Well, Fujioka... are you familiar with the saying 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'?" The blond's smile turned creepy when she managed a nod, "Good, well you're going to learn a new one today as well. 'If you don't have the cash, pay with your carcass'. As of today... you're the Host Club's 'Dog'!"

Haruhi could literally feel her soul start to leave her body. _Mom... after all that work to get into this school... to be with_ _Nēchan in a place where we could be ourselves and really excel in life... and I wind up being a servant to these Morons! How will I explain this to Dad and Nēchan?_

"Well, everyone back in place! Our guests will be here in no time. Fujioka, your first chore as our errand boy will be to sweep up the remains of your... little accident. After that, please wander around the edge of the room until we call for you."

If there were ever a time Haruhi would want her sister's abilities, it would be now. But she didn't, which left doing what the blond said her only option at the moment.  _ Damn it. _ She repeated that line for the next half an hour as she swept up the broken vase, threw it out, and watched as the Host Club's guests started pouring in. And it didn't take long until Haruhi started seeing how they acted around people they weren't allowed to be honest with.

"Where will you take me for the summer, Tamaki?"

"Wherever you wish to go."

_ No. _

"What's your favorite kind of music?"

"Whatever you like, I like."

_ Stop. _

"I baked a cake today. Would you like to try a piece?"

"If you feed it to me."

By that point, Haruhi was stuck between wanting to throw up or throw something  _ at _ Tamaki Suoh, which was apparently the tall blond's name.  _ Seriously, how could  _ anyone _ fall for that? Let alone 7 out of 10 girls at this school? _

The Hitachiin twins from her class, which is where she recognized them from, were no better. At first they were just talking with their guests, but then the older one, Hikaru, started a story that Kaoru, his brother apparently didn't like. It got to the point where the younger started crying he was so embarrassed. And what happened next? Hikaru pulled his face closer like they were about to kiss! By then, Haruhi had enough of the club.

"You guys live in a world all your own..."

Kyoya Ohtori, the only second year student in the club besides Tamaki, smirked, "Perhaps... or perhaps not. Our actions might be strange to a newcomer such as yourself, but there is a method to this madness. We simple apply our individual talents to meet the needs of our guests. We give them what they want, and they keep coming back.  _ You _ , on the other hand, Fujioka-san, have a slightly different job. While you remain as our 'Dog', you'll take care of simple chores. Cleaning up, bringing tea and pastries to the hosts and their guests, and small shopping trips will be the general idea, and you will do so until you've paid off your debt."

_ Maybe Nēchan can help get me a passport... _

"Oh, and I suppose you can try to run away or refuse, but please be aware that my family's reach is far and wide. You have a passport, I trust?"

_ No, but I sure  _ want _ one now. _

Haruhi couldn't get a good read on this guy. One minute he was calm and the voice of reason, keeping the club running smoothly without needing an iron fist to make people do what he wanted, but the very next second he was giving her a Devil's smile and spewing very thinly-veiled threats.  _ These boys are  _ literally  _ insane! _

"Well, Fujioka-san... looks like you've got $80,000 of chores to do, and not much to offer a girl." Haruhi went to roll her eyes, but a sudden puff of warm air touching the back of her neck cut everything off. She jumped and scurried away.

"Don't do that."

"Huh. Don't like that technique?"

" _ No! _ "

"Hey, no need to be so uptight. You may be our 'Dog', but that doesn't mean I can't practice my charms on you every once in a while."

Haruhi glared over her shoulder, "Well,  _ don't! _ I don't care for your 'charms' or whatever you call them. Man or woman, handsome or not, it shouldn't matter. It's what's inside that matters. A handsome face means nothing if you're an ugly person on the inside." Her brown eyes narrowed a bit, hoping that the blond would get the hint that she  _ really _ didn't want to be associated with him.

"Huh... I guess that's true... and so cruel!" Haruhi steepled her hands and pressed the tips to her mouth as he continued, "God has given so many people only one or the other, but decided to grant me beauty both inside and out! Not to brag, of course, but it's so cute how you attempt to console yourself like that! Another triumph of the Ouran Commoner!"

_ He's so... so... oh, what's the word? Bothersome? No... it means that, I'm sure, but I'm looking for something more plain... _

The second voice in her head whispered a suggestion and the brunette straightened her back, "That's it!"

"Oh? That's what?"

"You're annoying!"

The next moment, Tamaki was hunched over in a little ball, sulking. He literally walked over to a clear area and sat down, curling his knees to his chest and somehow darkening his entire being.

"Huh... he didn't take that well." Behind her, the twins were ruffling her hair and complimenting how quickly she'd shut the blond down. "Uhm, Tamaki-senpai, I-"

" _ King. _ "  _ Huh?  _ "Call me 'King'. That's what they call me here. Call me that or I won't listen."

Just as Haruhi was about to inform him that she would  _ never _ call him 'King' even if the rest of the world called him that, the twins decided to step all over him, calling him 'Majesty' and 'Royalness'. Even Kyoya was mockingly using the term 'Sire' as he told the blond of his ever growing list of requests for the day.  _ Huh... maybe if they show off their sarcastic sides more often, I can learn to handle this place. I may not speak 'rich', but I'm plenty fluent in sarcasm. _

Across the way, Haruhi noticed the last two hosts who had yet to notice Tamaki's shattered ego. The third years, Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka, though apparently everyone called them Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai.

"Hey, who came up with their nicknames?"  _ They're kind of familiar... _

"Huh? Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai? Not sure. I think they asked to be called that back in middle school, or even earlier. I've never asked. But a lot of the girls here have taken to calling them Hunny and Mori." Tamaki glanced to his side, gauging the scholarship student's reactions to the third-years as he quickly forgot about his previous meltdown, "You seem interested."

The girl jumped, not wanting to mention that they were sparking the faintest hint of a memory in her head, "Uh... it's just weird to think of Hunny-senpai as a 3rd-year student. And Mori-senpai hasn't said a word since I came in. Not even to his guests."

Tamaki shrugged, "Looks can be deceiving. Hunny is actually our oldest member, and Mori's draw at the club is his silence. He also tends to prefer remaining silent anyways."

"Huh." She narrowed her eyes. She knew she had never met them... but their  _ names.  _ Giving up for the time being, she sighed and hung her head, "All I wanted was a quiet place to study. Of all the rotten luck."

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that. Why didn't you just go home?"

She shrugged, "My Dad works the late and early morning shifts at his work, but today he decided he'd stay up and send me off to school. Hopefully he went straight to sleep, but on the off chance that he decided to do chores first, then I don't want to risk waking him up. It's been rough, y'know? I wouldn't want to strain him any more than I already have. He raised me and my sister by himself for 10 years."

"Hm," Tamaki pressed a finger to his chin, "Sounds like a pathetic sort of situation."

"What?"

Out of nowhere - _ again _ \- the blond grabbed her shoulders and started shouting, "Did you subsist on rice and horseradish?! So poor that you considered selling yourself to a... a mean Master who would've overworked you and left you crying into your pillow night after night?!"

"Huh?! Where'd  _ that _ come from?! What are you  _ talking _ about?!"

"Oh," he quickly dropped his hands, grabbing a handkerchief from his pocket, "I'm sorry. * _ Sniff _ * I've gotten hooked on reruns of 'Oshin' lately. You could very well be living it-"

"Well, I'm not, so stop freaking out! That's not even close to the same story!"

The blond stopped crying, tilting his jaw up a little, "Very well, Fujioka. I'll cut you a deal. Your appearance might make the situation completely hopeless, but I'm still willing to try my best to teach you. Let's see... we'll make the goal... 100! If you can garner  _ 100 customer requests _ , I'll waive your debt to the Host Club! And you'll be the star host for all the girls who love 'Oshin'!"

"I... I DON'T WANT TOOOO!"

* Time Skip *

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting-"

"NO! NO NO NO! WRONG!"

"Ouch!" Haruhi jumped back, holding a hand to her head, "What was that for?"

"When you put the glass down, cushion the bottom with your pinkie! It eliminates harsh sounds and shows more grace! See~" Tamaki held the glass of water up to the side of his face, his pinkie curled along the bottom, "Don't I look classy? And I can even see my reflection in the side of the glass!"

_ That's one big ego you've got there... _

"Oh! And if you find yourself grasping for words, looking at your guest from below is highly effective." He did just that, keeping his eyes half lidded, "I hope my hands on lessons aren't too distracting for you."

"Not at all."

Well, apparently Haruhi had a secret talent for hitting her Senpai where it hurt, because he went right back to his sulking corner and started growing mushrooms. Spotting the guests watching them and whispering among themselves, she quickly tried to perform some sort of damage control, telling him about how her heart  _ had _ skipped just a  _ little. _

"Haru-chan~" A solid weight slammed into Haruhi back, almost sending her to the ground, "Haru-chan, if you and Tama-chan are done for today, do you wanna come have some cake with me?"

"Uh... sorry, Hunny-senpai, but I think Tamaki-senpai is just taking a... a break. Maybe some other time?"

"Okay! Then, here! You can hold Bun-Bun!" The small boy pushed the stuffed pink bunny into her face, smiling widely as Haruhi stared at the stuffed animal. As much as she wanted to keep her distance from these crazy people... the little guy was definitely cute. And she was talking about the bunny, incidentally, not Hunny-senpai... though he  _ did _ remind her of some of the children in her apartment complex.

"Haruhi? As beneficial as it is for you to get along with our club members, we need you to make a trip to the supermarket. It would appear we've run out of coffee to serve our guests." Kyoya hummed to himself and started scribbling in the black journal he always seemed to have on him, " _ Perhaps we should start ordering an extra case with our shipments. If it's going to be more popular this year... _ Oh, and you'll need this."

He passed off a golden credit card to the girl before walking away, still muttering to himself. Haruhi watched him go for a moment before handing the bunny back to it's owner and walking out of the club room. Any opportunity to get away from these boys, however briefly, was like a gift from above. Maybe her mother had finally gotten a word in?

As she walked to the supermarket and bee-lined for the coffee section, she tried to organize the host club boys in her head.  _ Okay, so Tamaki-senpai's an idiot with a huge ego. Calls himself King. The others follow his orders, but I don't think they actually respect him. Not even the twins. That's probably because he's a 'self-elected' President of the club. _

_ And then there's Kyoya-senpai. Cold, aloof, but clearly smart. He's the Vice President, but seems the run the club more than Tamaki-senpai does. A Shadow 'King'. Even so, it's easy to tell what he's going to do next, so he's somewhat consistent at least. _

_ The twins are a little harder to read. They keep to themselves in class, but they've so far congratulated me for getting under Tamaki-senpai's skin and mocked me for offering to pay for the vase. Kinda volatile. _

_ Hunny-senpai's cute, definitely, and childish. But I have a feeling that he's hiding something. And I  _ swear _ I recognized the name Haninozuka! Morinozuka sounds sort of familiar, too, but I have no idea what's going on with Mori-senpai. _

_ In short, they're just crazy. _

The second voice in her head managed to mention that the best people in the world are often 'crazy' before Haruhi shushed it and went to checkout. In the end, the shopping trip took less than twenty minutes. And the moment she walked through the doors, she wished she'd made a break for it.

"Ah! Our little kitten is back from shopping! Did you get everything?"

Lower eyelid twitching from the 'kitten' comment, Haruhi struggled to hand the paper bag over to Tamaki rather than throw it at him, "You guys wanted coffee. Here." The blond merely gave her a smile and attempted to pat her head, which she ducked around. Scowling about stupid rich people, Haruhi started to walk away when Tamaki let out a sound of surprise.

"Eh? What's this?"

"Coffee."  _ Or can't you read? _

"But...  _ ground _ coffee? And it's not even a brand I'm familiar with."

"Ground? No, it's instant coffee."

Her senpai stared at her for a moment, lips forming slowly around the word 'instant' before he shouted, holding the jar in his hands like he just realized it was a huge diamond, "WOAH! Is  _ this _ the kind where you just pour in hot water? How proletarian!" The other boys began crowding around, staring at the jar in wonder. Their guests were whispering excitedly among themselves.

"I've heard of it, but I've never actually  _ seen  _ it before..."

"So it's true! Poor people don't even have the time to grind their beans!"

"Let's brew some up and try it!"

"It's amazing how common folk cope!"

Hardly able to take it, Haruhi clenched her fists and stomped a foot, "Okay! Enough! I  _ get  _ it! You want your expensive coffee? Fine! Give me back the instant stuff and I can go exchange it! Sorry for wanting to save you guys a little extra money!"

The hosts looked over, smiling and brushing her off. Apparently, after his initial surprise, Tamaki actually wanted to try it. Kyoya was making a few notes in his journal, probably about the price, while the others commending Tamaki for his 'bravery'. Haruhi was ready to rip out the rest of her hair and scream.

She started inching away, hoping to escape to some far corner of the room, perhaps a closet, when an amused chuckle reached her ears, "You don't have to worry, they're only messing around. It's not like that junk will suit their tastes."

"Haruhi! Come over here and make us some instant coffee!"

The brunette looked between the blond and the redheaded girl. A few seconds ago there would've been no contest... but something about the girl put Haruhi on edge. It was almost... uncomfortable about the way she'd called the instant coffee 'junk', like she meant it as an insult for Haruhi rather than the product itself.

"Haruhi?"

"Ah! Coming!" She hurried over and began preparing the drink. It didn't take long, which was another big surprise for the other students. As the hosts began handing the cups out, Haruhi snuffled to Tamaki's side, "I'm not going to take responsibility if they don't like it, I'll tell you that much." She watched as the guests started to question whether it would be  _ wise _ to drink the coffee.  _ Are you for real? It's coffee! _

Beside her, Tamaki let out a puff of air, "Oh, ye of little faith." Haruhi turned to look at him just as he swaggered over to the nearest girl, cupping her face and leaning in close, "Would you rather drink it from my mouth?"

The girl squeaked, as did the other guests, before they all held a toast and took their first tastes. Most of them seemed surprised, though by what Haruhi had no idea, and soon enough most of them were asking for seconds. For the last hour of the club, Haruhi was making and serving 'commoner's coffee' to the customers.

It had been a long time since she'd last been so happy to go home after school.

*\/*

"Listen up, men! Today, we investigate the ramen of the common folk!"

Haruhi stared blankly, her mouth agape as Tamaki began assigning different flavors to the hosts.  _ Wait... investigate  _ ramen? _ What does this have to do with hosting? What's his game? _

"And now, I shall turn you over to our instructor! Haruhi!"

Before the poor girl knew what had happened, she was standing in the middle of the host club's kitchenette, directing the boys in making ramen... of all things. They complained about  _ everything _ and questioned the instructions both on the packaging and from Haruhi herself.  _ Seriously! How do they expect to make it in the real world if they can't even cook ramen? _

"The seasoning's on the lid..."

The new voice almost had Haruhi jumping out of her shoes. It was Mori-senpai. She had to blink and recollect herself before her speech returned. Quickly, trying not to stare, she started to explain how to get around the little problems. Her senpai was a good listener, nodding along to her demonstration.

On the other hand...

"Now, that's skill! How  _ marvelous! _ May I physically express how moved I am? A thank-you kiss, perhaps?"

"Please don't."

Her dismissal gave the blond pause, probably because he'd never experienced it before, which left a good opening for the twins to express their opinion.

"Hmmm... something's not right here, is it, Kaoru?"

"Yeah. A poorly balanced equation, indeed."

"Now, women  _ are _ definitely attracted to good-looking gay guys for sure, and a tension between friendship and love can work..."

"...but it takes a pair of twins like us to crank that sort of thing up to the maximum danger level."

"To be loved by two men who have such a close relationship... ah, what  _ stimulation... _ "

"The ultimate romance, wouldn't you say?"

The redheads slipped over to the girl, caressing her face like Tamaki had been only a few seconds ago. Haruhi felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. This was  _ way _ out of her comfort zone.

"But then again," they sighed and pulled away, "It's impossible for you. For it to work, all participating parties have to be drop-dead gorgeous."  _ Why must I even participate in the first place?! _

"Huh... your glasses visually enlarge your eyes, don't they? They're really block like, too. Old-fashioned... like your outfit. Perhaps if we removed..."

"Hey!" She made a grab for them, but the world had already regressed into a bunch of blobs. "Look, I accidentally rubbed one of my contacts out during the admissions ceremony and haven't had time to replace them yet! Give those back! Those frames were my grandfather's!"

No one responded, but she saw Tamaki raising a hand. The sharp sound of snapping fingers preceded a sharp command, "Hikaru! Kaoru!"

"Yes, sir!"

The twins grabbed her shoulders and practically threw her into a chair. There was the sound of scicors near her face and if she weren't concerned about getting her ears snipped off, Haruhi would've squirmed a lot more.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Don't worry."

"We're pros at this."

Around the rest of the room, Tamaki was ordering the other boys around. The moment the twins stopped cutting her hair, Kyoya handed her a box with a school uniform in it and Mori pressed a box of contacts into her hand. Without much preamble, Honey shoved her out of the kitchen and into another room off of the music room. There were yellow curtains lining the left side, and a number of mirrors along the right.  _ A changing room? I thought this was a music room? _

"Hurry up and change, Haru-chan! We wanna see!"

Sighing, she walked quickly into the changing room closest to the door. Thankfully, there was another mirror inside, which made putting in the contacts that much easier. Wondering in the back of her mind how they had gotten her prescription so quickly, she opened the box. Blue. It was the Ouran boy's uniform. Suddenly, it was like the past two days were being thrust under a microscope.

_ They think I'm... a boy?  _ Haruhi almost busted up laughing.  _ Oh my god! That's priceless! I should've cut my hair a lot sooner! Man, I should call Nēchan after today and tell her! _

Outside of the curtain, she heard the other boys gathering around, discussing the different ramen flavors they'd managed to properly cook. Looking at herself in the mirror, Haruhi did a double take. She looked... completely unrecognizable. Her hair was styled perfectly to brush over her eyes, but not block her vision, and the uniform was perfectly tailored to her size.

"Uh... Tamaki-senpai?" She pulled the curtain open, "Is this uniform... for me?"

The boys gasped, Tamaki shooting forward to grab her in a tight hug, "CUTE! You look  _ wonderful _ , Haruhi! A true masterpiece!"

"Ack!"

"So pretty, Haru-chan!"

"You should've warned us about your face!"

"Shall we test him on some customers, then?" Haruhi's eyes narrowed slightly. Kyoya almost sounded teasing when he said 'him'.  _ Does he... know? _

"That's the next phase of my plan! Alright, Haruhi! Time to show off those sizzlin' hot looks! Let's see what sort of patrons you appeal to!" Haruhi opened her mouth to protest, but the blond dragged her out of the changing rooms before she could. Instantly, their guests were staring at her. Tamaki steered her through the crowds until they were in the middle of the room.

"Ladies, I would like to introduce our newest host! Haruhi Fujioka!"

The whispering grew to a low roar, and before Haruhi knew what had happened, she was seated at a collection of couches with three other girls looking at her expectantly. They started asking her questions, going from hobbies to mode of transportation to skin care. Haruhi felt like she had been injected in anesthesia, the words bouncing off her face without leaving an actual impression. She managed to mumble out a few words, mostly brushing off the questions without much of an answer.

"So... why did you decide to join this club? I thought you were just here to keep things tidy..."

"Oh, I broke a vase and-" her breath caught in her throat.  _ $80,000 in debt... completely waved if I draw 100 customers. I'd almost forgotten... What should I talk about? What? _

_ If you find yourself grasping for words... _

Swallowing, Haruhi slowly reached for a tea cup sitting in front of the girl on her right, "Would... would you like your drinks refreshed?" She looked up, still crouched forward. From this angle, she was looking up out of the top right corner of her eyes. The girl gasped and pulled her hands to her mouth.

"Yes... please!"

"Me too, please! Me too!"

The brunette let out a sigh and refilled the glasses, "So... did you ladies have any other questions?"

The one sitting across from her timidly raised a hand, "Haruhi? Why did you want to come to Ouran Academy? Was there any special reason?"

"Actually, there was! See, other than the fact that this school provides some of the best high school level Pre-Law classes in the area... my onēchan is actually going to attend here in a few weeks, and I wanted to go to the same school as her."

The three girls leaned in, "You have an older sister?"

"Yeah!" Haruhi smiled widely, glad to be on a subject she actually liked talking about, "Her name is Jin, and she's a year older than I am. Well, actually, she's one day less than a year older, but that doesn't usually matter. She's in America right now finishing up her Study Abroad program, but she should be coming back soon. I can't wait to see her!"

Her guests were practically bouncing in their seats as she finished, asking more and more questions about her family. Until...

"Oh... I'm so sorry. So, does your older sister do all the housework and cooking?"

"Sort of. She's a really good cook and sometimes slips into 'cleaning frenzies', but most of the time we split the workload. My mother... she was a great cook. That's probably where Nēchan got it, and she left us a lot or recipes. It's been fun learning how to make them all, and Nēchan's even started committing them to memory so that she can let me keep them once we grow up. But mostly, I just enjoy spending time with her and the smile our dad gets when we get a new one right."

She looked up at her guests to find them completely enraptured. They started stammering out requests to see her  _ the next day! _ Haruhi almost fist pumped. If she kept the pace up, she'd wrack up her quota in no time!

Waving goodbye to her guests in a much better mood than the one she'd started with, Haruhi stood up and stretched out her back.

"Ah, Haruhi! If you have a moment, I'd like to introduce you to someone!" Curious, she walked over to Tamaki's couch. Instantly, she was on guard. It was the redheaded girl from yesterday, the one who called the instant coffee junk. She was the only one sitting with Tamaki, and she didn't look very pleased to see the brunette. But it would appear that Tamaki didn't notice.

"Haruhi, this is Miss Ayanokoji, one of my regulars."

_ Regulars? _ Haruhi's mind supplied nervously.  _ Does that mean I'll be seeing her almost every day? _

Swallowing her emotions, the brunette managed a smile, "Pleased to meet you."

Before she could receive any sort of response from the cold girl, Tamaki pounced at her from the couch, squealing about how cute he (she) looked with the embarrassed smirk. Haruhi pushed at his hands, but the blond must have some octopus running through his family, because he was practically suctioned onto her. The twins were laughing in the background, so no help from there, and she managed to turn around a little. Mori was walking by.

_ Perfect! _

"Mori-senpai! Help!"

_ WHUFF _

"...Mori-senpai? That was a bit much..."

"He asked for help, so I helped."

"I see."

Haruhi sighed, letting herself be hefted like a bag of flour for the time being. Tamaki hugged way too tightly... and he was making her miss the hugs she used to get from her sister.

Tamaki slipped around his senpai and grinned up at the girl hoisted over the giant's shoulder, "Alright, return to Daddy's embrace for your hug~"

"You're no father of mine!"

*\/*

"Heigh-ho, ladies! Let's play the 'Which-one-of-us-is-Hikaru' game!" Haruhi cocked an eyebrow before shaking her head.  _ These rich kids will be entertained by anything. _ She went to walk away, but one of the twin's guests spotted her before she could escape.

"Oh, Haruhi! Which would you pick?"

Stifling a sigh of boredom, the brunette eyed the redheads. They were grinning at the group of girls, looking almost exactly alike... except for...

"Kaoru's on my right. Hikaru is on the left."

" _ Bzzzt! _ Wrong!"

Haruhi blinked, retreating her hand for a split second before finally managing a teasing smile, "Aww... you know I'm right. Yeah, you look alike, but are you the  _ same? _ No way." Her classmates looked like she had just pulled their chairs out from beneath them right before they sat down, but the rest of the girls were suddenly swooning. They began to crowd the brunette, explaining how no one was able to tell them apart when their hair wasn't parted.

"Oh, your finger, Haruhi! What happened?"

Jumping a bit, Haruhi just barely stopped herself from hiding the bandaged finger in her jacket pocket. That would look suspicious. "Just a little kitchen accident last night. No big deal."

The others started asking if she was okay, and Haruhi did her best to ward them off, but her smile was becoming harder and harder to maintain.  _ I wonder how they'd react if I told them I actually cut my finger on a blade hidden in a textbook... or about the sewing needle in my jacket? Would they think it was harassment, too? I dunno, I've got no proof. _

"Haruhi? Could you please go close that window? It's becoming drafty in here."

The brunette nodded, "Sure thing, Kyoya-senpai." Walking over to the mentioned window, she bit back mentioning in passing that she was no longer their servant. Who knows how they might punish sass? Grabbing the window, she glanced outside and almost pitched forward. In the fountain...  _ that was her bag! _

Quickly shutting the window, she ran out the doors and down the hallway.  _ How did I not notice someone throwing my stuff out the window? All of my homework and notes are in there! And my wallet! _

Haruhi rounded a corner and bumped shoulders with someone passing by the other way, "Oh! Excuse me-"

"Ah, the Commoner." Haruhi froze, realizing exactly  _ who _ she had just bumped into, "You've certainly shaped up well since Tamaki took you on as his project. At a passing glance, you almost look like another Pedigree. Hmm... it's only too bad that your real background is that of a Mutt."

Ayanokoji drifted past the brunette and was gone, her chuckle still punching through Haruhi's gut. Slowly, she began walking again. Standing in the pond, Haruhi pulled out her items one by one, laying her notebooks out to dry in the sunlight.

_ Okay... I suppose I've found my prime suspect. I just have no way to prove it. What would her motive be anyways? God, I want to cry. Is this how Nēchan felt all the time? How did she handle it for all those years? _

"Hey, Newbie!"

"Ack!" Haruhi straightened up, finding Tamaki watching her from the edge of the pond. He didn't look very happy...

"Skipping out on the Host Club, eh? And why are you wading in the pond? Hardly the cleanest place."

"No! It's just... I dropped my bag into the pond, along with my wallet! I just need to find it!"

"You keep your  _ wallet _ with your  _ books? _ That's dumb!" Shaking his head, Tamaki kicked off his shoes and peeled his socks off, "What am I going to do with you?" Before Haruhi could protest, the blond rolled up his pants and climbed into the pond as well, shucking off his shirt. "Besides, you gotta get in deep if you want to find anything heavy!"

"Wha- Hey! You don't have to do that! You'll get all wet with this scummy pond water!"

Tamaki smirked, "Oh, please. A little water isn't going to hurt my looks. There's a thirty percent finder's fee, right?" As the blond continued to splash around, Haruhi spared a few moments to really  _ look _ at him.  _ This isn't what I'd expect from some cushy rick kid. Not many people would scrape around a dirty pond for someone else's belongings. And that finders fee thing... that was a joke. I know it was. It sounded like something Nēchan would say. Actually... this is something she would do, too. If Tamaki-senpai's anything like- _

"Hey! If you just stand there I'm definitely going to find it first!"

Jumping, Haruhi stared for a few more seconds before managing a smile, "No way!" The two started searching with earnest, occasionally shouting quips back and forth at each other. Tamaki even laughed when Haruhi stepped on something slimy. It was probably just some weed that had grown underwater, but she still found herself laughing along. The blond had a nice laugh... when it was genuine.

"I FOUND IT!" Haruhi raised the brown material in the air with a cheer, Tamaki joining in with a few tears. They kept talking all the way out of the water, Tamaki insisting that he would've found it first if she hadn't distracted him with the slimy things he could possibly step on. In fact... it was almost awkward when they finally got dressed again and started heading back to the club room, the silliness of wallet-hunting fading away.

"Ah, Tamaki, Haruhi, there you two are. Your guests are waiting. Haruhi? You have a new customer. Good job."

The brunette blinked, a small smile reappearing on her face.  _ Wow, another one! Man, this quota won't be as hard to reach as I... _

"Hello, Haruhi." Ayanokoji smiled coldly at her host for the afternoon, "I was wondering if you were ever going to show up."

Swallowing, the brunette sat down, "Hello, Princess Ayanokoji."

The redhead smiled coldly, "I was just curious as to why you and Tamaki disappeared so suddenly. Something worthy of his time, I presume? Not many of the girls here would be happy if they thought their favorite host was blowing off time with them for some... _ thing _ , unimportant."

"...It was my school bag. It fell into the pond. He offered to help me find my things."

"Hmm..." the girl took a long drink of tea, "That's just bad luck. School bags jumping into ponds... what next? I just hope you realize that should something like this happen again, you really shouldn't bother Tamaki about it. Really, I'm only trying to help you."

_ Help?! Is that what this is?! _

"See, it was only a cheap school bag, after all. Not really worth his time. He offered, so I suppose there was little you could do about it. He  _ is _ rather stubborn that way. But it would be best for you to not misunderstand his interest. The only reason you have his attention is because of your unusual background. Once he gets used to it, you'll be tossed aside for the next new thing. But for now, there will be those who might not see his interest as the  _ harmless _ thing that it is, and will get upset-"

"Are you jealous of me?"

The question had sprung so unbridled to Haruhi's lips, she wasn't even aware that she had asked it until it was hanging in the air. Ayanokoji looked like she'd just been smacked across the face, but it looked like less of a shocked expression and more of an 'I'm-about-to-rip-you-apart' look instead.

" _ AAAAAH! _ " Haruhi jumped at the bloodcurdling scream suddenly coming from the girl in front of her. The table they were sitting at was shoved harshly in her direction, knocking tea all over the floor, "You  _ brute! Haruhi made a disgusting suggestion! Barbarian! _ " Haruhi shook her head as the other girls started looking around frantically, no one knowing what to do.

" _ Someone needs to throw this Commoner out-! _ "

_ Splish _

The redhead cut short, staring into the empty space in front of her as her brain attempted to register the wet feeling spreading around her body.

"Oh... sorry."

"Our hands slipped."

The girl turned around in shock, the sound of pictures fluttering off to her left as another voice sounded, "Did you take us for  _ blind fools _ who wouldn't notice you skulking about? We have quite a number of pictures of the things you've done to our newest recruit..."

Anayokoji spun around once more, suddenly finding the small 3rd year student staring up at her with tears in his eyes, "She's scary... like an ogre lady."

"Pitiful, really..."

Tamaki was the last to step up, shaking his head in disappointment, "It's too bad... you're mighty nice-looking Princess... but looks alone just don't cut it here. I'm afraid you'd need more than that to cover up your horrible personality. Disappear, okay? There's a good girl."

"Wh...  _ what? _ You're siding with  _ him?  _ Over  _ me?  _ Tamaki, have you completely lost your-"

"You tried to  _ smear _ a member of the Host Club. You are  _ barred  _ from our club henceforth."

Ayanokoji turned and ran from the room, tears in her eyes and screaming about how she hated the whole host club... a weird thing to announce, Haruhi figured, after all the work she had gone through to try to keep Tamaki to herself. And yet... she could hardly believe that the entire host club, who she still barely knew, had stood up for her. They had even been keeping an eye on her tormentor so they could provide the proof that Haruhi lacked. It had been... sweet of them to do it.

"As for you," Haruhi's eyes widened when Tamaki's finger was suddenly in her face, "For this fiasco, I'm imposing a penalty and raising your quota to 1000 customers!"

" _ WHAT? WHY? I DIDN'T EVEN-" _

"Of course you did. Because of you, we've lost a regular customer and my exquisite body was reduced to menial labor to recover  _ your _ wallet."

Haruhi felt like steam was about to come pouring out her ears, "YOU OFFERED TO DO THAT YOURSELF! IT'LL TAKE ME UNTIL GRADUATION TO FILL THAT QUOTA! YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS- _ " _

_ " _ Now, now... no need to get snippy. I'm sure you'll be able to manage it." The blond had the gall to wink at her, "I have faith in you."

The girls had all flooded out of the club room, having been shooed out after Ayanokoji. Probably because the others had figured Tamaki was going to do something that would upset Haruhi. She ran her hands through her hair, tugging at the ends.  _ I open one door in this stupid school and I'm suddenly cursed! What if... oh no... what's going to happen when Nēchan comes back home? _

"Oh, Haruhi? Is this student ID yours? I think I noticed it drop out of your bag when you..." Tamaki paused, staring at the photo. Haruhi smirked, knowing what was coming next.

"Haruhi?"

"Yes?"

"You're a... girl?"

"Biologically? Yes. I never claimed otherwise... if you remember."

The blond turned around and stared at her... then jumped five feet in the air, screaming incoherently.  _ Oh my... that was a much more volatile reaction than I was expecting. _ Casting a glance to the other boys in the room, she noted how none of them seemed as surprised. That didn't surprise her. Tamaki was definitely the dumbest one here.

"Look, I don't personally care for gender identification. It doesn't matter to me what parts I was born with, and I've never really cared about what I was identified as. So, when you all referred to me as 'he' and bought me a male uniform, I just didn't bother to correct you. Besides, my sister and I prefer pants over dresses anyways. I think our dad influenced that kind of thinking a lot." She glanced over her shoulder, where Tamaki was growing redder by the second, "Just so you know, you're reacting much better than I thought you would. Thanks for being cool about it."

Tamaki made a noise like his drink had just gone down the wrong tube.

"And besides, it's kinda cute having those girls hassle over me."

"What?"

"Guess I'm a little bent that way. Huh, something else Nēchan and I share, then. I'll have to tell her that I'm going by male pronouns while I'm here, then... before she shows up." She smiled, "It's certainly going to be interesting coming to school for the next few years!"

 


	2. Episode 2!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Host Club throws a Christmas Party!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little note, I forgot that this was supposed to be a Christmas chapter. So… I'm just going to do the same thing as the manga, and completely disregard any reasonable passage of time. So, ignore the fact that the timeline is basically nonexistent. Thanks!

**** Fast footsteps bounced off the walls of the Northern Hallway as Haruhi Fujioka ran as fast as her legs could carry her… which actually wasn't that fast. She had never been very athletic.

_ Damn! I lost track of time while I was studying! I don't even want to think about what they might do if I was late!  _ Her breath came out in little bursts as she passed by window after window, a cold and dreary landscape showing from the area below. It was late December, so the temperature had taken a slight dip, enough to warrant a jacket when someone went outside. However, the lack of sun they'd been graced with lately was much more draining than the chilly weather, washing out the campus buildings until they appeared more grey than pink. Not even Haruhi would even call that an improvement.

She skidded to a stop just outside of Music Room #3, trying to control her breathing so she wouldn't sound super out of shape from just walking up a flight of stairs and running along a couple hallways.  _ I really need to start exercising regularly... _

Grabbing the handle, she yanked the door open, an apology on her lips-

And nearly choked on her spit.

It was like her first day of meeting the hosts all over again. The six of them were standing around a chair that Tamaki was lounged over, staring at the door with a varying range of smiles as they welcomed her into the room. The only difference?

Today, most of them were shirtless.

The entire room was filled up with palm trees and tropical flowers. The sweet scent hit Haruhi like a brick in the face, as did the sudden heat wave and heavy air moisture. Suddenly, the brunette understood why five out of the six boys had forgone shirts, her white button down was already starting to stick to her arms inside her sleeves.

Perhaps the only reason Haruhi didn't walk away then and there was because she was already running late and the room was at least twenty degrees warmer than the hallway she was standing in. Walking into the room, she ignored the twins criticizing her tardiness and went straight for the President.

"Okay, what's with all the tropical stuff? It's  _ December. _ "

"Hmph!" Tamaki lightly brushed his bangs to the side, "When it's frigidly cold  _ outside _ , that means it's the perfect time to invite our beautiful guests to spend a day in their own private paradise  _ inside! _ And besides, what better way to show off our superb physique to our little kittens? Think of it as a little treat for them being so loyal!"

_ Loyal… pfft. _

"Oh, in addition, this is also a good way to get the girls talking about our big upcoming event: The Host Club's Christmas party!"

"Party?"

* Time Skip *

"Oh, how cruel of you… even with my skin, shiny as ivory, the well-toned muscles it covers, and the outfit that drapes them so well… I am still abjectly humbled before your inestimable radiance!"

Haruhi attempted to swallow the bile in the back of her throat as she moved through the club room, tuning out Tamaki's words as best as she could. How could anyone stand that? She passed by the twins' table, their guests asking questions about the Christmas party and  _ actually _ being answered, unlike  _ Haruhi's _ questions twenty minutes ago. Even so, once the redheads had answered a few questions, they went right into their 'brotherly love' act and the girls lost their damn minds.

"Sheesh, the customers are really getting into it today. More so than usual."

"A little heat, a little skin, it's a potent combination." Kyoya crossed his arms across his bare chest and scanned the room, "One of Tamaki's early ideas was having us all dressing up as santas, to play along to the season… but then there was that coffee-table book on the tropics, tactfully placed for ready viewing." He chuckled, "Well, after that it didn't take long for our President to change his mind."

Haruhi slowly backed away,  _ This guy's the club's Shadow King… _

"Gawd, you're so cute, Hunny!"

Across the way, the little blond was prancing in a circle within his guests, twirling so his Balinese flower lei swung cheerfully around his neck. Deciding that was a much far safer place to be than anywhere near the Vice President, Haruhi slipped over just as Mori-senpai brought out a pineapple to share with the guests.

"Oh! Takashi! Takashi!" Hunny-senpai took a running leap at the tall boy, landing somewhere around his hip, and quickly scampered up his side, throwing a matching lei around the ravenet's neck, "Look! Now we match!"

The small blond cuddled with his friend, causing one of his guests to faint. That stopped Haruhi dead in her tracks.  _ They're all nuts! And the girls here aren't any better! But those two seem so _ familiar…  _ what  _ is  _ it? _

"Haruhi! Haruhi" Turning around, the brunette saw two girls sitting at a nearby table, waving her over. She recognized them. They came around for her almost every day.  _ Her _ guests.

Walking over before Kyoya could start making snippy comments about ignoring her duties, Haruhi sat down at the table, "Good afternoon, ladies!"

"Hi, Haruhi! Oh, where's your tropics outfit?"

"Well, I just… couldn't shake off the fact that it's winter outside. Seemed weird."

The girls giggled, "Very sensitive to the seasons, Haruhi? How lovely! When's your favorite time of year?"

"Oh, wow." Haruhi scratched the back of her head, "I don't really know, to be honest. They all have their own pros and cons. I mean, take winter for example. Right now, it's cold and dreary outside, but if you're at home with a fireplace, snuggled up with a book, snow falling past the window… it's the most relaxing thing in the world."

Her guests gasped softly, clasping their hands close to their faces, "I sure would like it to snow of Christmas, especially during the party…"

"Us… dancing beneath freshly falling snow… like a winter dream!"

Haruhi smiled softly. That seemed like something Jin would like to experience. She'd always loved the seasons more than she hated them, and while the cold winter air made her older sister's nose run every time she set foot outdoors, Jin claimed it was worth it to be able to stare up into the clouds and laugh, snowflakes melting on her lips and cheeks.

"You know, it's a really beautiful thing that you two can weave dreams around cold, grey days."

She almost regretted that sentence the moment she spoke it, her guests blushing a dark red and saying they'd willingly brave a blizzard to be with her. That… was a little much. But other than that, the rest of the time with her guests went by smoothly.

"Excuse me? It's almost time for your next request, isn't it?"

Jumping at the sudden voice, Haruhi smiled politely at the two girl who were getting up to leave before turning to face her next guest, "Oh, I suppose it is. And your name is?" She was surprised to see someone new. The girl had brown hair that stopped just above her shoulders, and a smile that seemed so sad...

"Kanako Kasugazaki, Second year, class B, "A soft hand gently caressed Haruhi's chin as the girl tipped her head up so they'd face each other, "Hmm… you  _ are _ a pretty one, aren't you. Well then, Haruhi, I think I'll make you my new favorite."

* Time Skip *

Haruhi had no reason to believe anything had gone wrong all day. Other than her most recent confirmations that she was hanging around crazy people, which she was receiving daily now, hosting hours had passed by smoothly.

It wasn't until they started party planning that they realized something was amiss.

" _ Lord _ ," Hikaru droned, "Will you lay off the Prole ramen and help finalize our party plans?! It's only a week away and we need you to sign off on everything before we can get the funds!"

His brother rolled his eyes, resting his chin on his hand, "Why're you so yanked off that Miss Kanako chose Haruhi? You weren't nearly this upset the last two times it's happened!"

"They're quite right, Tamaki. It's not like her sickness started today," Kyoya added, his eyes still glued to the pages of his journal. Haruhi's head perked up, but the twins seemed to realize her question before she even had to ask it.

"He's referencing to the classic 'fickle female disease'," the two waved their hands dismissively, "Also known as man-switching mania."

"Uh… could you elaborate on that just a little more?"

Kyoya glanced at her from over his journal for a split second before refocusing, "Generally, when the host club gets a new guest they tend to test the waters first with the different host types we have to offer before settling down with a specific host. But Miss Kanako is a special case… in that she switches her favorites every couple weeks. She managed to cycle through all of us at least twice over the course of the last school year."

"Tama-chan's been her most recent choice, and we thought she'd finally settled down since she was his guest for almost two months!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes, once again disappointed with the rest of the students at Ouran, and yet not surprised either, "So he's fine with  _ you _ guys stealing his customers, but the second the  _ new guy _ shows up-"

"THAT'S NOT IT! THE FACT IS THAT YOU'RE NOT THE NEW  _ GUY! _ " The blond huffed a few deep breaths before straightening up, pointing his finger in Haruhi's face, "I've had enough! Haruhi, you'll dress like a female from now on!"

The brunette smacked the offending finger away, a frown tugging at her lips, "Excuse you, where did you get the impression that you can tell me what to do with my body?"

"Haruhi, can't you see how nuts this is? You're a  _ girl _ , but the  _ girls _ like you as a  _ boy! _ How can I, a gentleman, let our customers be deceived in such a way?! Only the host club knows the truth! How long do you expect us to hide it?" He suddenly dove for a trunk that hadn't been sitting there a moment ago, "Daddy wants… Daddy wants… TO SEE YOU AS YOU WERE! LIKE THIS!"

Haruhi's jaw dropped, frantically standing up, "YOU ENLARGED MY OLD SCHOOL PHOTO?! HOW DARE YOU?!"

"Woah! Woah! Calm down!" The twins jumped up in between the two, grabbing the large photograph Tamaki was waving around in Haruhi's face. The blond immediately crumbled to the ground, weeping pitifully into a handkerchief.

The twins looked at the photograph themselves, "But, y'know… I've always wondered…"

"...what  _ possessed _ you to change your look from  _ this… _ "

"...to  _ that? _ "

For a moment, Haruhi was about to question what 'that' was, but quickly figured they were referencing to her look on the day they'd met, "Oh… well, one of the kids in my neighborhood accidentally got gum in my hair a few days before school. He was laughing and kinda spat it out. And since it would've taken forever to try to wash or pull it out, I decided to just snip it off. And in the end… it was a little shorter than I'd originally planned for. And I already told you about the contacts thing."

"Why didn't you just go to a salon… they would've at least cut it properly…"

Haruhi shrugged, "Look, I really don't give a fuck how I look or what gender norms I might be playing towards, but at the moment it's best if I keep to male pronouns to help reach 1000 request quota-"

"WAAAAAH! NO GIRL SHOULD SAY THE 'F' WORD! MOTHER! HARUHI'S GOT A POTTY MOUTH!"

There was a faint fake-cough from somewhere behind Tamaki, which Haruhi couldn't see since the blond was all up in her face, before Kaoru innocently asked, "Mother?"

"Means me… I suppose." Kyoya sounded so defeated as he spoke, his face blank as Tamaki ran to him for head pats. The twins, however, merely snickered as they cornered Haruhi between them once again.

"Looks like the Lord's gone all idealistic about girls."

"Pathetic… and a little scary."

"Anyways, Haruhi, have you ever done any social dancing? It's required at the party."

Haruhi blinked, tilting her head, "Eh, I know the basics of some dances, but I've never done it in public. Like, I can foxtrot fairly well and I've learned some of the tango… my sister taught me how. She's an amazing dancer. I suppose the only thing I never really liked was the waltz. But I'm not really into going to parties, so if it's not tied to my quota then I'd prefer to be excused-"

"Woah, there!"

She cringed,  _ Oh… great. _

"If you're  _ so set _ on being a guy, I'll be  _ happy _ to show you what it takes! And social dancing is a must!" Tamaki scowled in her direction, an expression she wasn't quite used to seeing on his face, before pointing at her all dramatic-like, "If you will master the waltz and perform it at the party, I'll declare your debt halved!"

_ KRA-KA-KOW! _

Cue the lightning strikes as Haruhi held in her screams.

_ I hate this place... _

* * *

"Alright, Haruhi! Let's start!" The brunette groaned as she slowly stood up from her chair. She should've realized that when she'd been told they weren't hosting this afternoon, it didn't mean she'd have an actual break.

Tamaki was standing in the middle of the room, which was now completely cleared of all furniture, waving at her, "Come on, Haruhi! Show some enthusiasm! I'll teach you all I know about-"

"I think  _ not _ , M'lord!"

"Miss Kanako? You can come in now!"

The doors to the music room opened and, sure enough, Kanako Kasugazaki walked in with a shy smile and a pleasant 'Hello, Haruhi'. Somewhat relieved that Tamaki wouldn't be all over her, Haruhi walked over and started thanking her newest guest for taking the time to help.

"Well, shall we get started? How much do you already know?"

The short-haired brunette shrugged, "Enough. It's just the finer points I need to work over."

"That's great!" Kanako smiled and put the two into position. In her mind, Haruhi thought it didn't feel much different from dancing the 'girl's' part, which is what she had been taught. "Let's begin… right, left… feet together on the second 'right'. Don't forget that the gentleman always leads… so guide your  _ partner. _ "

Suddenly, the dance grew a little… awkward. Not the steps, at least. Those were easy enough and Haruhi was able to lead Kanako around the room in a large circle. She'd only said she didn't  _ like _ the waltz, not that she  _ couldn't _ waltz. Except… Kanako was pressed up against Haruhi's entire front, making the dance more intimate than it probably should be in a practice, not to mention how they were almost complete strangers.

Haruhi managed to keep going and not trip up by staring over Kanako's left shoulder. Her gaze appeared close enough to seem like she was keeping eye contact, but in reality she was watching Hunny-senpai lead Mori-senpai in a foxtrot. It was kinda funny… except for the faint recognition that came with their names that was slowly starting to become more irritating than interesting.

"So, Haruhi? I was told that you didn't have much knowledge of social dancing. Where'd you learn, then?"

"Oh," Haruhi smiled softly, allowing herself to meet Kanako's eyes again, "My sister. She had to go to a few fancy parties every once in awhile, and eventually she taught me some of her favorites and some 'need-to-knows'. I even went to one dance with her, but everyone basically ignored me and Nēchan was so busy she didn't have any time to spend with me. Probably why I'm not into these big parties."

Kanako's eyes widened a little, "A sister? I didn't know you had a sister, Haruhi."

"Well, you would've found out sooner or later. Most of the other guests know about her. She's coming back from America in a week or so, and she'll be attending Ouran Academy. Apparently, she even knows a few students here."

"Oh, my," The other girl grinned as Haruhi spun her around, "That must be exciting! I can already tell you love her very much. But tell me, you mentioned that she knew a few students at Ouran? Are they the reason she had to learn social dancing?"

_ THAT'S IT! _

The realization suddenly hit Haruhi upside the head, causing her whole body to freeze. Kanako, however, was still moving, and ended up falling down by tripping over Haruhi's feet. Since their hands were still clasped, Haruhi went down with her, barely managing to catch herself before she squished her dance partner.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Kanako! I just-"

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around her neck, pulling her further down until Haruhi was on her elbows. She could feel Kanako's breath on her face as she laughed, brushing off Haruhi's apology. The tips of their noses bumped before Haruhi remembered how to speak and offered to help the other girl off the dirty floor. Not quite ready to start dancing with the girl again, the brunette weakly offered some tea.

"I'd love some!"

"Oh, and I'm sorry the twins roped you into this, Miss Kanako…"

"I don't mind, Haruhi… with the host club closed while you practice, I get to monopolize your time this way." Swallowing, the brunette poured a cup of tea for her guests. The drink was steaming in it's porcelain cup, and Haruhi was secretly relieved that it would be a while before Kanako could drink it. The girl took one glance down at her tea cup and grinned, "My, my… these are brand-new Jinori tea sets! They just came out last week, didn't they?"

Kyoya approached from the other end of the room and continued the conversation in place of Haruhi, who had no idea what they were talking about. His journal was resting on his shoulder by his head in what the brunette assumed was meant to be a handsome pose… but really she thought he just looked dumb.  _ Honestly, what kind of girl does he think he'll win over doing things like that? _

"So… you seem to know quite a bit about-"

_ Clack! _

"Wh-what?! No, I don't! Not a bit!"

Haruhi jumped a bit at the violent denial, but quickly reached for her guest when Kanako winced, her finger covered with hot tea and growing redder by the second, "L-let's get you to the nurse!"

The girl nodded meekly and followed Haruhi out the doors. Thankfully, the closest nurse's station was just down the hallway. Haruhi pushed open the door and called out for the nurse, Kanako whimpering softly behind her.

There was a boy standing in the middle of the room, and he turned to look at the two in alarm, "The nurse is out bu- wait, is that a burn?" He quickly rushed across the room and reached out for Kanako like Haruhi had earlier, "Let me see-"

"No!" Kanako smacked the boy's hand aside before draping herself over Haruhi's shoulders, "I'm already well taken care of, right,  _ Haruhi? _ "

The brunette looked between the two other students. She knew she couldn't have just  _ imagined _ the look of pain that flashed across both of their faces when Kanako had smacked the boy's hand away… and she didn't think it was because their hands had hit.  _ What's going on between these two? _

"Well, if the nurse is out, then we should have a nurse's aide…" she looked sideways at the boy and raised an eyebrow in question. He shook his head, a sad smile on his lips.

"Hahaha! Oh, Haruhi! Well, I suppose I'm not surprised! He looks nothing like the scion of a major corporate family, does he?" The other brunette winced a little at the coldness behind the laughter, and shot a sympathetic glance at the boy, who merely smiled a little wider and started heading towards the door.

"I've finished my rounds in here... I suppose… I'll see ya later."

_ Choonk _

Haruhi and Kanako were alone.

The girl sighed, her eyes losing their cheerful tint and dropping to the floor. She cradled her burnt finger within her other hand.

Clearing her throat, Haruhi attempted to breach the subject… only to receive another violent denial. Kanako was now rubbing at her right hip, which had slammed right into the long desk that ran in the middle of the front room, where a nurse should've been standing by. In the back of her mind, Haruhi had to admit it was a little ironic to hurt oneself in a nurse's office, but she only voiced concern when her guest tried to run out of the room, her face beet red.

The key word here being: tried.

_ SLAM! _

Mori stopped in the middle of the doorway, chest heaving a little in testimony to how fast he'd probably run to get there. Hunny was on the tall boy's back, draped across his shoulders with a scrape on his right arm.

"He's… hurt…"

_ He's not the only one, _ Haruhi added in her head. Kanako was kneeling, cradling her head in her hands from the place the door had smacked into her. And then there was the door itself, hanging off one of its hinges and cracked along the top. Of course, before Haruhi could say anything, Kanako was staggering to her feet and stumbling out the door, calling out a shaky 'see ya' before disappearing from view. The short-haired brunette hoped her guest wouldn't fall down a flight of stairs on her way out of the school.

"Uh… okay. Mori-senpai, how about you fix the door while I clean up Hunny-senpai?"

The older boy didn't look too happy about it, but he did set the small blond down on a stool and went to find a hammer and nails as Haruhi began rummaging around the nurse's desk. Since no one was there, what was the harm?

Thankfully, she found bandages and antibacterial cream in only a short period of time, which was enough for now, "What happened?"

The small boy sniffled, "Takashi accidentally stepped on me. I tripped in front of him… he couldn't stop."

"Wow… sounds grisly, alright." She rolled up his sleeve a little more and got a good look at the scrape, "Aww, it's not so bad."

She began pressing the cream into the cut as Hunny looked up at her with weepy eyes, "So… I'll mend?"

"Yeah, you'll be fine."

The boy grinned, "Thank you, Haru-chan! Hey, did you meet Toru-chan? We saw him come out before Takashi almost broke the door!"

Haruhi glanced at the tall boy, who had finished hammering the door back in place before turning back to the blond in front of her, "The boy who was in here earlier? I never caught his name."

"Second year, Class C, Toru Suzushima! He's Kanako-chan's fiancé!"

"Woah… really?"

Hunny nodded, "He's really nice, too! I wonder why Kanako-chan didn't tell you… oh, I have a question, Haru-chan! What made you and Kanako-chan fall down earlier? You were both doing so good…"

"Oh, right!" Haruhi pressed the bandage to the small boy's arm and grabbed his hands, "She said something that helped me remember! I know who you two are!"

The boys exchanged a glance, "You… do?"

"Of course! You know my older sister!"

More confused looks.

"Jin Fujioka!"

At the name, the hammer Mori had been holding fell to the floor, Hunny's eyes going wide.

* Time Skip *

"Everyone! Line up and relate the details of Miss Kanako and Mister Suzushima's relationship! Stat!"

Haruhi sat back in astonishment as the twins started talking about their history, including how they'd met and how they ended up being betrothed to each other. Oddly enough, none of the others thought it was a weird -and somewhat archaic- word to be throwing around. And then Kyoya stood up and gave his report on 'Mister Suzushima'. Of course, as soon as the ravenet mentioned how the boy was in Class C, the amusement and dryness in his tone became apparent. Haruhi's eyes narrowed.  _ Oh… that's what those girls meant by 'The Invincible Class A'. Buncha snots… they don't cut a guy much slack. _

"Well… I suppose we have it."

"Have what?"

Kyoya smirked, readjusting his glasses, "Why, the cause of Miss Kanako's 'sickness', of course. 'A future with that man in an unwelcome prospect.'"

_ What? _

"'I want to fool around for a little while.' That sums up  _ her _ view of the matter."

_ I'd beg to differ. _

As Tamaki started grilling both Kyoya and Hunny-senpai for knowing about the difficulties between the couple and not telling anyone beforehand, the twins slipped up near Haruhi.

"Hey, what's with the long face?"

"Were you hoping you'd get more time to practice before the dance?"

"Nah, I'm all set. However, I don't think you're all quite right when it comes to the tension between Miss Kanako and Mister Suzushima."

"Oh?" They leaned in close, "And would that be because of what pops up on an internet search of 'Suzushima'?"

Haruhi was blinking into space even after the twins slunk off to rile their 'lord' up even more.

* * *

_ It's time to open the doors… _

"Welcome, one and all, to the Ouran Host Club Christmas Party!"

Instantaneously, the hall burst into light. It was  _ huge! _ Silver and gold garland hung from the crystal chandeliers, casting little flecks of color onto the tiled floor. The huge bay windows were draped with heavy white curtains tied back with golden cords, revealing a moon-lit and snowy landscape that stretched off into the night. Girls in dresses all the way across the color spectrum were spinning around, trying to take in the sight with their wide eyes, gasping in awe and a few laughing in sheer amazement. An orchestra started off a soft song, sitting on one side of the hall while a large spread of different treats and drinks lined the other. Dangling from the ceiling in between the many chandeliers were colorful bulbs that glowed from the inside, really helping to show off the 'Christmas'-ness of the party.

Tamaki stood on the balcony, offering a hand towards the guests still bedazzled by the aesthetics. Beneath him stood Kyoya, Mori, Hunny, and Haruhi, all smiling at the guests kindly. The twins were there too, hair spiked up rather than laying flat on their heads like usual, but they were standing further off to the side to help draw attention to the miniature casino that had been set up at the end of the dance hall.

"Heigh-ho! Who's up for a game of cards, ladies?"

The entire ballroom let out a unanimous giggle as the brothers continued to explain what 'winning' would mean. The top point-earners would be awarded the last dances with the Host Club members, and the  _ ultimate _ winner would receive a kiss from Tamaki. Haruhi rolled her eyes,  _ I suppose that explains why they were so adamant that I know how to dance… _

"Hey, Haruhi, why are you so tense? Couldn't you at least smile for the guests? Everyone here is excited but you!"

The girl shrugged at Tamaki's comment, "Well… it's my first Christmas without Nēchan. Last year she managed to stay until the day afterwards, so it's a little hard. I miss her a lot…" Ignoring how the twins were fake crying, she saw the bittersweet smiles the 3rd years were giving her. At least  _ they _ somewhat understood. "And besides, this is a vastly different way to celebrate the holidays to what I'm used to. Usually, Christmas amounts to me, Nēchan, and Dad exchanging a few gifts and watching Christmas specials. Let's see… last year I got an MP3 and we made some fruitcake..."

"Tch," Hikaru shook his head, "Then no wonder the fabulousness of this party is lost on you."

"Pearls before swine…" his brother agreed.

Kyoya hummed, "You mentioned before that you've been to one of these parties before, Haruhi?"

"Yeah. Name escapes me at the moment, but I mostly just watched the dancers and ate. The food was really good…"

"Well, then, help yourself. We have quite a spread."

The girl tilted her head, "You know… I think I might. My favorite was the giant tuna-"

It was like she'd opened the gate to Hell.

"WAAAAAAH!"

"I WANT GIANT TUNA HERE, STAT!"

"How modest!"

"How unassuming!"

"We have Tupperware, Haru-chan! Take some home!"

"Hello? We'd like ten orders of giant tuna. Yep, rush it!"

"We have roast beef!"

"Where's the caviar?"

Haruhi quickly slipped away, trying to hide her embarrassment.  _ Me and my big mouth… I should've just gone without saying anything. _ Trying to slink around the edge of the dance floor wasn't working either. She kept on being stopped for dances or hints about being the person's choice should they win one of the end-of-the-night dances. The brunette managed to get halfway between her crazy club members and her target when another voice sounded above the crowd.

"Ah, Haruhi! You're here!"

The girl looked over and saw, "Kanako."

She received a giggle, "Could I ask for a dance?" The other brunette smiled, her eyes closing in an endearing fashion, missing how Haruhi's eyes suddenly danced with mischievousness.

"Of course, but… hey, is that Toru?"

"WHAT?!"

Kanako had another violent reaction, rushing straight into a waiter and knocking his platter down. The man and student apologized profusely to one another, and while Haruhi hadn't planned on making such a mess, she thought it was kind of cute the way Kanako was staring at the mess she'd made, a red blush on her cheeks.

"I may not know many things about tea sets," Kanako peered up at her host from the floor, "but I can definitely tell when someone else does. It doesn't look like you're really suited to play these games… especially if you're still struggling to hide it after a full year. Besides… Suzushima Commerce imports high-end tea sets and other dishware. I have a feeling that if you're still able to look and appreciate the teacups we have at the club, the thought of the family that trades with them isn't a negative one."

The other girl is still on the ground, her hands shaking a little, "Oh… so you figured it out. It's… it's true, what you say. I'm glad to be marrying Toru, I do love him. But I don't think he feels the same way. It's like… he's been avoiding me since we got to high school. I try to capture his attention by throwing myself at the host club, but that's just driven the rift deeper. And then…" a single tear dripped down the left side of her face, "He put in for that transfer without even  _ telling _ me. He's going to England. So it's-"

"Haru-chan!"

All of the air was forced out of the brunette's lungs as a shoulder dug itself into her stomach. Haruhi's legs were lifted into the air before she felt herself being carried out of the dance hall at top speed. The colors of dresses and dangling bulbs blurred up until she and her kidnappers made it out of the dance hall. It wasn't until they got to the main floor's prep room that she could suck in enough air to speak.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!"

Mori set her down just in time for the twins to shove a package into her arms, telling her to change. Before she could even ask what they were talking about, she was behind a changing room curtain. As she pulled the pink dress from the packaging they'd given her, the boys explained… somewhat.

"His lordliness sprang this on us yesterday, so it wasn't easy getting prepared on such short notice, but we're going to get the truth out of Mister Suzushima about how he feels for Miss Kanako. So, you're going undercover."

_ Oh… he doesn't know I'm a girl… _

Slipping into her new get-up and walking out of the changing room, Haruhi was quickly pushed down into a chair, the twins holding different types of makeup in their hands. Decided to just take it, she remained as still as she could while the brushes started dancing across her cheeks.

"It's 20 minutes until the climax of the party… that's your time limit. We've already called Mister Suzushima over to room 2-C. You ready?"

Sighing, she grabbed the proffered wig and pulled it over her head, Honey stepping forward to help tuck in the extra strands, "You look so cute, Haru-chan!"

"Eh, I'll take your word for it. The wig's a bit heavy, though."

"Hey! What's going  _ on _ in here?! We have  _ guests _ to enter-"

Tamaki's shouting was cut short when Haruhi turned towards him. And while she didn't show it on the outside, it was very satisfying to shock the boy into silence. The girl/gender neutral/boy thing really messed with his head, clearly. But there wasn't any time to keep poking fun at him, despite the ' _ what, you've never seen a girl before _ ' literally on the tip of her tongue.

She heard encouraging words all the way out the door and down the hall. Thankfully, by the time she got to classroom 2-C, the noises had died down. Unfortunately, that gave her enough brain space to think about what she was about to do. What if he recognized her? Then what would happen to her secret? Would Toru even listen to her? Would he just brush off Kanako's apparent feelings?

So many reasons the meeting could go wrong were crowding her brain space, Haruhi almost didn't realize she was opening the door until she met Toru's eyes from across the dark room. He didn't look very happy to be there.

"Oh… you must be the one who wrote this letter."

_ Letter? _

The boy sighed and handed the paper to her, curling her fingers around it, "I'm so sorry, Miss, but you and I… it's not possible. There's only one girl I truly care for, and while she doesn't feel the same about me, there's no way for me to let her go. Not now... not ever."

Folding the letter up to hold onto until she could read it later, Haruhi scuffed her shoes on the ground, "She sounds like a real beauty."

"Yeah," Toru managed a smile as his eyes took on a far-away look, "She's… glamorous. There's no other way to put it. She deserves to have a man brimming with confidence. It's selfish, but as much as I know she could find someone else like that with ease, I  _ want _ that to be me. So, I've decided to become that man by going out to see the world. I just hope she'll wait for me…"

"Hmph. That's quite selfish, actually." The boy stared at her in shock, but Haruhi pressed her fists to her hips. Channeling her inner 'Jin Fujioka', she let it loose, "Look, you clearly know how  _ you _ feel about the girl, but by traveling around the world without her and without telling her  _ why _ is only going to drive you two apart. How do you think she'll feel if she sees you running off without an explanation? You say you want to change? Good, you've taken the first step into your transformation. But if you want to show her  _ confidence?  _ Then  _ confess. _ "

_ Clank _

There was a soft gasp from the doorway and the two whipped their heads around. They caught the barest glance of big brown eyes leaking huge tears before Kanako spun around and began running, her cries echoing down the hallway. Toru tore out of the room after her, shouting her name.

"No! Kanako, it's not what you think!" Haruhi yanked her wig off and took a step out of the room when an arm cut in front of her and stopped her from giving chase. Tamaki smiled down at her, even when she started fighting against his hold. "What are you doing? Did you bring her here? Are you  _ trying _ to make things worse for them?"

"Of course not."

"Then  _ what- _ "

" _ He went after her. _ "

_... Oh… _

"Come on, to the window. The countdown's begun."

The two walked over to a window overlooking a courtyard. They got there just as a huge Christmas tree standing in the middle lit up, revealing Kanako and Toru. While the girl was caught off guard by the sudden light show, the brunet grabbed at her hand. Just then, Tamaki threw the window open and shouted down to the surprised couple.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS! And  _ blessings _ on our two stubborn mules!"

Haruhi's head was held close to his chest, makeup covered face hidden from view but still able to hear the clock tower toll out twelve chimes.  _ Midnight… it's officially Christmas. That was the countdown... _

The couple in the courtyard looked at each other in shock before Toru smiled. They couldn't hear what he told his fianceé, but the watery smile she gave him spoke volumes. Haruhi and Tamaki watched as they started dancing by themselves in the freshly falling snow before Haruhi realized she still had to get cleaned up before the final dancers were announced. It took only five minutes for her to shed the dress and pull on her tuxedo, and since the makeup was scrubbed off with a vengeance she was ready in record time. They walked into the ballroom just as the winners were being called out.

"Miss Ai has won the final dance with Mitsukuni Haninozuka!" A relatively short girl squealed and ran up to her host, who was also bouncing with joy at the prospect of another dance where he was twirled around the dance floor.

"And the winner of the final dance with Haruhi Fujioka…"

Hikaru trailed off when the doors at the very end of the dance hall opened up. The whole party looked over in surprise. Who could that be? It couldn't be another guest, could it? The party was almost over!

A person walked in, wearing a black wool coat and matching black hat and gloves. There was also a yellow and black striped scarf wrapped around their neck, masking the bottom half of the person's face. The hosts were too far away to see the newcomer clearly, not to mention the large crowd between them, but the girls at the back gasped and parted, letting the stranger through.

The hat and gloves were pulled off first, revealing long brown hair and thin fingers. Next was the coat, showing off a strange fashion sense. A black t-shirt with an Ironman Arc Reactor in the middle and a white long-sleeve beneath it. But the shirt went oddly well with the dark blue jeans and black combat boots. The scarf was the last to be pulled off, showing off the red headphones that were resting perfectly around the girl's neck and a pair of dangling eighth-note earrings.

The girl stopped at the front of the group and smiled, her coat and other winter accessories hanging over her left arm, "Hey, Haru. Merry Christmas."

"NĒCHAN!"

The room erupted into cheers as Haruhi launched herself at her sister, happy tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. Most of the guests had heard of Haruhi's older sister one way or another, but as they had never really been given a description of the girl, they had be unprepared for how  _ pretty _ she was!

However, the matching hair color and eyes between Jin and Haruhi were dead giveaways to their relation, enough for the girls to figure it out.

Jin grinned wider and hugged her sibling tight, her coat and other winter apparel having fallen to the floor as soon as the hug started, "So, was this a good enough Christmas present?"

"Yes! Yes, it is Nēchan! It's perfect!"

The two parted, Jin gently combing Haruhi's hair back into place with her fingers, striking up an 'awww' from the surrounding crowd, "I'm sorry I burst in on you all like this. I thought the party ended at midnight, and I wanted to surprise Haru. I didn't mean to interrupt…"

"Oh! We should let Haruhi dance with his sister!"

"Yeah!"

"That would be so cute!"

"They haven't seen each other in a year!"

The Fujioka siblings smiled sheepishly at the hosts, most of whom were still staring at Jin in surprise. She looked sort of... like the photograph Tamaki had shown them all earlier, except for a few major differences. Jin was, of course, much older than Haruhi had been, and she looked more mature and feminine. Her shape was that of an hourglass, and her face balloon-ish shaped with high cheekbones and a pointy chin. The only ones who didn't looked completely floored were Hunny and Mori, who both looked like they'd been given a perfect Christmas gift as well.

After the indecisiveness had lasted long enough, Haruhi sighed and walked closer to the President and Vice President, " _ I won't ask for you to cut my debt in half. Please, just let me have this dance with Nēchan? _ "

Kyoya raised an eyebrow and eyed the taller brunette once more. She was giving him a smile, asking politely with her eyes to be granted permission. The ravenet looked over at Tamaki, who slowly nodded his head, and the whole room burst into applause.

Haruhi and Jin quickly fell into step with the rest of the hosts as the music started. Most eyes were on them, considering how happy they looked and how flawlessly Haruhi's older sister moved to the music. Despite her lack of a dress, she didn't appear to be out of place at all. And the girls found it really cute when Jin would spin her brother around, considering he was a full head shorter than she was. The siblings talked quietly with each other throughout the dance. Some of the guests and hosts tried to move closer to catch a sentence or two of them catching up, but when Jin threw her head back and laughed long and loud, her brown hair cascading down her back like a chocolate waterfall, the congregation stopped trying to listen in and just enjoyed the cute moment.

The dance ended with loud applause and another tight hug between the siblings.

"And now… the main event!" The twins were back at the front of the hall, microphones in hand as they held up a pair of note cards in their hands, still casting glances at the older Fujioka as they did so, however. They, along with most of the other boys, didn't quite know what to make of the new girl just yet. Why hadn't she already called Haruhi ' _ she _ ' or ' _ little sister _ '? Was she aware of Haruhi's situation?

"Tonight's big winner: Miss Miyako!"

The room burst into applause as a blonde girl blushed hard, grinning as she stepped into the middle of the room.

"Miss Miyako was to receive a blessed kiss from our King!"

"However, that will  _ now _ be awarded by Haruhi Fujioka!"

Jin pressed her fingertips to her lips, attempting to hide a smile as Haruhi and Tamaki both made loud and confused noises. The brunette looked to her sister for help, but received only a shrug.

_ What do you expect me to do? I just got here? _

There was the sound of footsteps from behind the siblings as someone approached, "I figured a twist ending would set off the evening just right." Kyoya smirked and leaned down to whisper in Haruhi's ear, " _ Do this, in lieu of a dance with your guests, and I'll cut your debt by a third. _ "

Swallowing, the short-haired brunette started walking towards the blonde who was blushing harder now. Her sister stayed back, looking at the boy beside her with a calculating glance, "So… I assume you're Kyoya Ohtori? Haru's told me a bit about you boys..."

"Has  _ he? _ And yes, I am." The ravenet bowed to the girl a little, "At your service, Miss Jin Fujioka."

"I certainly hope so."

He blinked, "Do you, now?"

"You're the one who holds Haru's debt, are you not? I have a proposition for you."

Kyoya cocked an eyebrow.

"Let me help my little…  _ brother _ , pay off what he owes." Jin smiled, "Let me join the Host Club."

Whatever Kyoya had been expecting, it hadn't been that. He opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a large gasp circulating the room as Tamaki accidentally pushed Haruhi towards Miss Miyako, forcing their lips to connect. The ravenet smirked as the guests started screaming louder, congratulating the red faced girl and shouting 'Kiss-a-holic' at Tamaki.

"Twist ending, indeed." Jin was watching the scene unfold with a cautious expression before turning back to the ravenet, "You were about to say?"

"Yes. As noble as your request is, Miss Jin, I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I don't believe having a female host would work in the way you might expect. Unless you were referencing to catering male guests..."

"Except I wasn't asking to be a  _ host _ . Make me your waitress. Haru told me all about how you boys have to fetch your own tea and snacks for your guests, so I'm offering to be a middleman. I'll cater to the tables around the host club, and you can use my labor to help trim down Haru's debt with you."

Kyoya raised a hand to his face, lightly holding his chin between his thumb and forefinger.  _ Not even here for a full ten minutes, and she's already striking deals with me for her sister's benefit. Well thought out deals, too. Her intelligence is certainly non-refutable. She'll most certainly be an interesting classmate... _ "It sounds… like an interesting prospect. But what of a uniform? We can provide one to you, but it will add onto your debt. Any increase in said debt will be on both of your shoulders. You'll also have to abide by our rules, go along with our outings and other activities-"

"Done." Jin smiled, "But I can pay for my own uniform."

The ravenet paused, "You can? It's very expensive."

"I know, but I've saved up quite a bit of money. I had two jobs while I was in America, and their school tuition was free. Not to mention that I have a scholarship from Ouran. I can pay for it."

He paused, intrigued, "Fascinating."

"What?"

"I'd heard that commoners worked often and for long hours to buy the simplest of things... but I never expected them to start to young."

Jin's smile froze, "What did you just call me?"

Kyoya blinked, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Come on, Nēchan!" Haruhi called out from a few feet away, holding most of Jin's winter clothes she had left of the floor, "Let's go home! I'm sure you're still jet lagged!"

Kyoya was given an absolutely  _ poisonous  _ glare before the brunette turned around, "Coming, Haru!" He watched as the Fujiokas quickly left the room, Jin frowning and talking to Haruhi in harsh undertones. The shorter brunette listened before casting a glance over her shoulder at the club's Vice President. She bit her lower lip and spoke to her sister again, but it didn't do much to the girl's mood.

"Hey, Kyoya-senpai?"

"What did you say to Jin-senpai to make her all mad at you?"

The twins laughed incredulously, "Did you really become her enemy after knowing her for less than  _ 20 minutes? _ "

"That was not my intention, I assure you," Kyoya frowned at the doorway, "But if she wishes to be emotional and petty, then by all means, I say we let her."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh... I brought Jin in a lot earlier! And I had her already knowing about the debt and after that I had no idea how to make her and Kyoya hate each other...  
> I just hope I did okay. In case you were wondering, Haruhi had told Jin about everything the boys had done and/or said to her... except the 'commoners' thing. That was new. And the stuck-up way you know Kyoya said it definitely rubbed her the wrong way, like he was better than her or something. Eh, I tried.


	3. Episode 3!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jin's first day at Ouran Academy... as well as another new student's...

 

Laughter bounced gently off the walls of Ouran Academy on Monday morning, two pairs of shoes smacking the tile floors as the Fujioka siblings walked towards the 1-A classroom. Their fellow students watched in shock as Haruhi and his big sister hurried along, the two all smiles as they walked side-by-side, unaware of the eyes stuck to them.

Jin's long brown hair had been cut overnight, now stopping just above her shoulders, where it swayed and bounced along to her steps. Her school bag swung gently in her left hand, matching the worn black leather of her younger brother's. The only difference between the bags were the initials 'H' and 'J' stitched next to the name 'Fujioka'. Haruhi's guests were swooning against the walls of the school at the sight of their host so clearly enjoying himself, laughing loudly at whatever his sister was talking about. Ouran's newest student was already growing in popularity…

And, of course, there was also the fact that Jin was wearing a school uniform. The boy's.

Her legs moved in time with Haruhi's, measured so her longer legs wouldn't make a longer stride, their black pants acting like copied over images as they continued towards the younger's classroom. Jin's jacket was buttoned up over a white blouse that followed her collarbone across her torso, but other than that she was  _ definitely _ wearing the boy's school uniform. Jacket, pants, and shoes.

Soon enough Jin waved after her little brother as he disappeared into his classroom before walking towards her own. Her eyes traced the curving architecture of the tops of the windows, sunlight flickering across her face. A small smile curled her lips as she took in the school's shapes and colors. While she walked, whispers stirred up in her wake.

" _ Is that… Jin Fujioka? _ "

" _ What's with that uniform? _ "

" _ Dude, stop staring at her! You'll drool all over the floor. _ "

" _ Can you blame me? Look at her! _ "

" _ How is she pulling that  _ off?"

" _ Do you think  _ I'd  _ look that good in the boy's uniform? _ "

" _ Oh… I love her hair! And she looks so good in blue… yellow always washes me out! _ "

Either she didn't hear them, or she did and was ignoring them, but Jin was still smiling softly when she got to her own classroom. Her first teacher was already there, and after he got over his shock of seeing her in the boy's uniform, he managed a decent enough smile.

"Welcome, Miss Fujioka. Please address me as Sokai-sensei. I will be your history teacher. Now, if you would, please take the empty seat, second to the back row in the middle column, and wait for the rest of your classmates to join us before introducing yourself."

Jin nodded and bowed, "Thank you, Sokai-sensei. I look forward to your lessons." The older man watched her walk over to the seat he'd pointed out before returning to the papers on his desk. He missed the way the blond boy he'd sat her next to was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement.

"Hello, Jin! Looks like we're desk neighbors!"

The brunette smiled a little, "Looks like. You're… Tamaki Suoh, right?"

"Yes! You remembered my name! I bet Haruhi told you all about me!"

"Oh, most definitely." Jin's smile turned amused as Tamaki started wriggling around in his seat. It wasn't until she sat down that she noticed the boy sitting behind the blond. Her smile vanished.

"Good morning, Miss Fujioka."

"Mister Ohtori."

The ravenet raised an eyebrow, but didn't bother to comment on the cold tone. If she wasn't going to attempt to befriend him herself, well, there was no reason for him to pursue her goodwill.

A few minutes later, Jin was beckoned up to the front of the room, all of their classmates staring at her in surprise or wonder. She spun around and bowed, grinning broadly at them all. Instantly, half of the room swooned.

Jin Fujioka had a smile that could melt a snowy day.

"Kon'nichiwa! My name is Jin Fujioka, and I'm your new classmate! I enjoy reading and spending time with my younger brother, Haruhi! Please take care of me!" She gave them one last smile before moving back to her chair, not even paying attention to the stares and sighs she was creating on her way.

Kyoya was surprised that his classmates looked so… taken with her. Exactly what were  _ they _ seeing? Tamaki was no better, though, as he was staring at the Fujioka in surprise with that telltale glint that usually meant trouble for Kyoya's mental health.

"On behalf of your fellow students, Miss Fujioka, I wish you welcome to our school. Now, as you've joined later in the school year, you might run into some trouble come our first exam." Sokai-sensei eyed the new girl with a lack of interest, something of which Kyoya could understand, before glancing at a paper still on his desk, "We've recently started the topic of mythology and its impact on modern ideals, stereotypes, and architecture."

The ravenet cast a sideways glance at his classmate, expecting a slightly panicked or at least somewhat worried expression. Sokai-sensei was a huge mythology buff, and was very serious about it. He knew things that even Kyoya had never discovered. But he was surprised to see Jin still smiling.

"Have you discussed Greek mythology yet?"

Sokai-sensei paused, his back straightening a bit, "We were about to cover that today. How much do you know?"

Another blinding grin, "Enough."

To the whole classroom's surprise, their teacher leaned forward over the desk with a glint in his eyes, "Hercules."

"Actually, the Greek version of his name is pronounced Heracles. Hercules was the name given to his story when the Romans adopted the Greek's Gods and myths into their own culture."

Sokai-sensei's eyes widened in glee, and he smiled, "The twelve labors."

"As punishment for killing his wife and children, due to a curse from Hera that made him temporarily insane, Heracles performed twelve labors for the king Eurystheus, most of which were to rid Greece of horrible monsters. Forgive me in advance, but I don't have all the official names down. In essence, he killed the Nemean Lion and the Lernean Hydra, then captured the sacred deer of Artemis, killed the giant Boar, cleaned King Augean's stables, drove away the Stymphalian Birds, captured the Cretan Bull, collected the Horses of Diomedes, the belt of the queen of the Amazons, the cattle of Geryon, the Apples of Hesperides, and even Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guards the gates of the Underworld."

For a moment, the room was quiet. Quite a few of the other students were gaping at Jin in awe. Even Kyoya couldn't think of anything to say. Sokai-sensei stared for another few seconds before chuckling, sitting down in his chair with a smile.

"Oh, I  _ like _ you."

Jin blushed a light pink, "It's just an interest of mine."

For the rest of the day, Kyoya watched in disbelief as Jin Fujioka began replacing him as their teacher's favorite student. She was polite. She was kind. And she continued to prove her intelligence over and over and over again.

Her English was flawless. She knew more languages than all of their teacher's combined. Math came easily to her. And the worst part was she didn't even  _ brag _ about it. It was as if she was totally unaware of how adored she was!

When she left the classroom for lunch, Tamaki leaned back in his seat and glanced at Kyoya over his right shoulder, "She sure is something, huh?"

"Something, yes."

*\/*

"Alright everyone, if you could all get into your places. We're opening soon." Kyoya clapped his hands together, attempting to not make it too obvious how unhappy he was now that Jin Fujioka was to be included in 'everyone'. She, her sister, and Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai were standing a little ways off, talking about something or another even as they moved towards the middle of the room, their yukatas swishing around their legs.

Yet another result of Jin's arrival that surprised Kyoya: how quickly she had grown close to the two 3rd years. Every time that those three had been in the same room, it was like they were drawn together. Kyoya didn't understand it… nor did he want to. If his senpai's were to be swayed by her looks and intelligence rather than her personality, then he would let them.

Even so… he was almost impressed with how quickly she was fitting into the crowds at Ouran Academy, swaying them to like her without much effort.

Of course, he was also  _ completely _ annoyed by it at the same time.

"So, what were the people like in America? What about your classmates, Nēchan?"

Jin tilted her head a little to the right, like she was thinking, "Well… I can't think of just one thing that defined them all… oh, except they all wanted me to teach them Japanese."

Her sister squinted her eyes, "Really?"

"Yeah. It got kinda annoying after a while. A lot of them just wanted me to translate their names, which didn't make  _ any  _ sense, but other than that it was just them pointing at objects and asking me what they were called. I swear, some of the girls  _ followed _ me around the building!"

"Alright, focus everyone!"

Jin leveled a moderate glare at Kyoya, which he ignored, before casually leaning against Haruhi's shoulders as the doors opened in front of them.

"Welcome~ And peace to you in the months ahead!"

The girls flooded in, a few of them slowing down just a tad when they spotted Jin standing among the group, but they were quickly rushed along by the others.

Tamaki stood up from his central chair, spreading his arms out wide, "The Host Club offers you the best wishes in the new year, and we wish to introduce our new waitress, the lovely Miss Jin Fujioka!"

The girls squealed and cooed before rushing to Kyoya, who whipped out his black journal as the others moved to their spots. As he began documenting the girls and the hosts they requested, he became slowly aware of the hesitating presence behind him.

"Miss Fujioka, is there something you require of me?"

"...Some directions would be appreciated."

Fighting back a groan of annoyance, the boy glanced over his shoulder, "You could start by delivering the cakes. They should already be plated and marked in the kitchen. I would begin with Hunny-senpai's table first."

Jin nodded and spun around on her heel, walking off to the kitchen and drawing attention from everyone else in the room. Kyoya scowled at her briefly before returning to the guests before him.

* Time Skip *

Near the end of her first day in the club, Jin felt like she had gotten a pretty good grip on what went on during hosting hours. Serving the cakes and tea was easy, and the conversations she was pulled into as she worked were not as bad has Haruhi had made them out to be. She was a little confused with the amount of interest the guests seemed to have in her, but otherwise, Jin enjoyed the club.

The flirting was a little weird, though.

"Tamaki… why, oh why, are you so beautiful…?"

"So as to be pleasing in your eyes."

"Why is your voice so.. Lustrous?"

"So my feelings will reach your heart."

"Tamaki.. Why are your eyes so dewy and glistening…?"

"Your beautiful smile… it makes the pool of my soul brim with joy…"

" _ Tamaki~ _ "

Jin raised an eyebrow and slowly backed away from Tamaki's table, warm teapot still in hand. To her left, Hikaru was draping himself over his brother, whispering something too softly for Jin to overhear, but judging by the red faced girls surrounding them, the brunette decided to steer clear of them as well.

_ Well, I need to give  _ someone  _ this pot of tea. _

Spotting Haruhi sitting a little ways away, Jin quickly walked over, "Hello, ladies!"

The group of girls looked up and grinned, "Hey, Jin-senpai!"

Haruhi smiled and leaned a little to her left, resting her head against Jin's right hip, "Hey, Nēchan. How's your first day going?"

"Pretty good! It's not nearly as bad as you told me it would be." Jin lightly pinched Haruhi's cheek before being batted away amid multiple giggles, "Do you ladies need a fresh pot of tea?" The girls nodded and began gushing over how Jin and Haruhi's floral kimonos matched in style, when another voice to their right spoke up.

"I must say, Haruhi, you've become more adept at entertaining the patrons. And Miss Fujioka… you've surprised me with how quickly you've molded into our selection."

Jin's eyebrows crinkled in confusion, thoughtfully spinning around the grape jolly rancher in her mouth with her tongue. Kyoya almost sounded… sincere. Glancing away from her task of tea pouring for a moment, she eyed his expression.  _ Oh. Never mind. He's only playing it up for the guests. _

As if on cue, a few girls began inching closer, going on about how nice it was that Jin was getting along with the other hosts. Of course, those comments were mixed in with the usual 'Haruhi looks so cute!' and 'Kyoya's a hunk!' and other various squealing.  _ Pul-lease. _

Briefly, Kyoya's grey eyes left Haruhi and caught Jin watching him. He smiled coldly, "Keep up the good work, you two. And don't worry, we don't plan to charge you interest or rental on the kimonos or anything of the sort. Just go on doing what you're doing."

_ Oh, fuck you too, my good sir. _

Before Jin could respond with an equally underhanded compliment, something tugged on the back of her green and pink kimono, "J-jin-chan! Jin-chan!"

"Hunny-senpai?" Spinning around, quickly setting the teapot down as she did so, Jin gasped at the tears flood down the small blond's face. Immediately she scooped him up in her arms, standing and rocking him soothingly, "Shhh, shhh, what happened?"

"I-I…" he sobbed softly into her shoulder, clutching to her clothes like a toddler would, "I lost one of my slippers!"

Jin clutched him tighter as the other guests gathered around, pledging to help him find the missing slipper as the brunette continued to cradle the 3rd year, "Shhh… it's okay. Where's you last see it?"

"I-I don't… d-don't  _ remember! Waaah! _ "

The girls around them began sobbing along, so Jin's first priority was to get the blond to calm down an focus. Gently, she moved all of his weight to her right arm and began running her left hand fingers through his short hair, walking around the room while keeping an eye out for the slipper.

" _ Mmm-hmm-hmm-hmmmm… _

_ Mmm-hmm-hmm-hmmmm… _ "

Hunny's whimpering began to die down as she softly hummed 'So This is Love' in his ear. As she moved around the room, she became so focused in her task of searching, humming, and carrying, she was unaware of the quiet guests who continued to follow her as well.

"Mitsukuni. Jin." The brunette turned around and saw Mori standing nearby, a small slipper in his hands, "I found it."

Hunny gasped and jumped out of Jin's arms, running for the taller boy. Jin smiled, but it was short lived. Instantly, she was surrounded.

"That was so precious!"

"You're such a good caretaker, Jin-senpai!"

"You're so sweet!"

"You're the Nurturing Type for sure!"

"How  _ adorable! _ "

"Uhh…"

"Of course!" Jin grunted softly as she was quickly crushed into Tamaki's side in a one-armed hug, "As a member of the Host Club, Miss Fujioka needs a type! Especially if she is to cater to lovely women such as yourselves!"

Jin's eyes widened a bit, and she saw more than a few of the other hosts copy her expression, "Wa-wait! What are you-"

"I can ask her about her choice in uniform!"

"Oh, I can ask for advice about other countries! Father would be so pleased with me!"

"Forget  _ that! _ We can ask about what Haruhi does at home!"

"And what he was like as a little boy! All cute and chubby!"

Jin stared in horror at the crowd. She went to say something else, but a soft voice in her ear stopped her.

" _ I know we said you'd only be a waitress, but they're all so eager to talk to you, we can't just let them down. You'll only be a part-time hostess, for when the girls request you. And it'll help cut down your debt. _ "

A long sigh was Tamaki's response, but it was enough. He smiled at the girls before throwing his arms out, "Alas, another glorious day of hosting draws to a close! We, the Ouran Host Club, bid you ladies, good evening!"

The guests complained, but did as they were asked, shuffling out of the third music room and gossiping with each other. Sighing, Jin squirmed out of Tamaki's grip as the doors shut behind the last guest, "Really, Tamaki, next time would it kill you to run an idea by me  _ before _ announcing it to the world? I..." She tapered off, expression changing from anger to curiosity as she stared over Tamaki's shoulder.

The rest of the hosts turned around, spotting the small face peeking in through the doorway.

"Oh… Hello and welcome!"

"We've closed for the day, but come in and introduce yourself."

"Don't be shy…"

"Pretty!"

The girl gasped and shrunk a little more into the shadows, and Tamaki straightened up, "Hey! Decorum, gentlemen… please!" The blond leveled a sharp glare at the twins for a split second before drifting towards the doorway, a gentle smile on his face. He reached out slowly, beckoning the girl closer, "Welcome, Princess… to the Ouran Host clu-"

_ SLAP! _

" _ DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU PHONY! _ "

Haruhi took a step back as Tamaki got smacked in the face, almost falling over as she bumped into Jin.

"How did  _ you _ get to be the kind of this club?! The  _ King _ does  _ not _ spread his love around like cheap margarine! A girl's heart responds to the enigmatic smile, the indecipherable glance! You're just a mushy oaf! An airhead pretty boy! A cut-rate romeo! In short,  _ a lousy lover! _ "

The blond fell backwards onto the floor in a dazed heap, hunched over and staring into space. Jin took a moment to take in the girl's appearance. She was wearing an Ouran yellow dress, so she must be a student, with light brown hair and a red bow tied on top of her head. Jin frowned, because the girl was still red-faced from screaming at Tamaki… except she looked pleased. That sort of rubbed her the wrong way.

Kyoya hummed softly, " _ Perhaps she's right… Tamaki is rather loud with his affections… and yet stagnant. _ "

" _ Oh, please. You're just agreeing because it makes you seem more desirable for being all 'mysterious'. Different girls are attracted to different things. Just because… _ this  _ girl doesn't prefer Tamaki, that doesn't make her the norm, Ky- _ "

"KYOYA!"

Jin was pushed to the side, almost falling to the floor herself as the strange brunette girl practically leaped past her. When she regained her bearings, she almost didn't understand what she was seeing. The girl was hugging Kyoya around the waist, a big smile on her face. Jin raised an eyebrow.

"How I've  _ ached _ to see you! My  _ one! _ My  _ only prince! _ "

Jin's eyebrow went back down.  _ Huh. I suppose that explains the preferences. _ She was about to shrug it off… except, something wasn't quite right. Kyoya was far too stiff. He was staring down at the girl in shock, and his fists were clenched. He was  _ not _ comfortable.

_ Huh... _

* Time Skip *

"Kyoya-senpai has a fianceé?!"

The girl giggled, twirling a piece of hair around her finger, "Uh huh. My name is Renge Hoshakuji! I'm transferring into class 1-A tomorrow!" She giggled again, kicking her feet a little and messing with her fingers.

Jin had no idea who to look at. Renge in confusion, or Tamaki in concern. The blond boy had been in the corner for the past ten minutes or so, and didn't look like he was leaving anytime soon, which sucked, because she had to ask him something. "Is he going to be okay? Renge was really harsh with him."

Hikaru tossed an arm over Jin's shoulder, "It's not that. 'Dad' over there is just upset that 'Mom' kept a secret from him."

"'Mom'?" The brunette turned to Kyoya, who refused to meet her eyes.

Instead, he crossed his arms and huffed slightly, "Not that I care, but exactly how long do you intend to keep referring to us as 'Mom and Dad'?"

"As long as we're amused by it."

Jin sighed, "Well, you guys deal with… the new girl over there… and I'm gonna talk to him." She walked across the floor as Renge began recounting how she had fallen for Kyoya.  _ Wow… that guy sounds so nice. So it probably  _ wasn't  _ Kyoya. Good thing, too. I don't think a sweet girl like her would survive being near him for too long. _

Haruhi seemed to be on the same track, asking Renge point blank if she was  _ positive _ she was talking about Kyoya. Jin held back a smile of amusement as she knelt down by the blond boy from her class.

"Hey," she pushed at his arm a little bit, "can I ask you something?"

Tamaki made a small noise in the back of his throat, so she assumed that meant 'yes'.

"Is Renge  _ really _ Kyoya's fianceé?"

He jerked a little bit, turning his head to look at her face-to-face, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're his best friend, so I assumed you'd know about his preferences and who he would propose to. I mean… does Renge really seem like his type? I don't know him that well, but he looked  _ really _ uncomfortable when she hugged him earlier."

Tamaki blinked, "Well… that is true. And she doesn't seem like someone he'd be interested in… Should we ask?" The two stood up just as Renge thrust her finger in Kyoya's face.

"Priceless moments captured in a love simulation game, featuring Ichijo Miyabi from "Uki Doki Memorial"! And you look just like him!"

Jin tilted her head to the side as the others were stunned silent, "Love simulation game? Well…" she unwrapped a watermelon flavored jolly rancher and popped it into her mouth, "I suppose that explains... a  _ lot. _ "

"FAN GIRL!"

"AAIIEEE!"

"I'VE NEVER SEEN ONE IN PERSON!"

"Huh.  _ Now _ it's starting to make sense." Kyoya brought a hand up to his chin, "She's fitting me to a game character and figures that makes her my fianceé. This 'Miyabi' character probably wears glasses, too…"

Tamaki stared at Jin in amazement, but addressed Kyoya, "So… she's  _ not _ your fianceé?"

"Not to my knowledge… and I'm pretty sure I'd know if she was, right?"

"But why didn't you  _ say _ so  _ earlier, _ you fool!" Jin pressed her hands to her hips, "You freaked everyone out!"

Kyoya frowned in her direction, but didn't say anything. Or, maybe he was about to, but just then Renge jumped forward and latched herself around his left arm. The boy grimaced and tried to pull away, but she refused to let him. Despite her personal feelings for the boy, Jin couldn't help but cringe at how uncomfortable he looked with a complete stranger touching him so familiar-like.

"I did my research before I came down here and I read that you  _ manage _ this club? Is that true?"

"That's right, Kyo-chan's in charge of our finances!"

"OMIGOD! THAT'S PERFECT!" She giggled shrilly and nuzzled Kyoya's upper arm, which made the other hosts cringe along with their Vice President, "I've always  _ dreamed _ of being a shop supervisor! That's it, then! I've decided! As well as training to be a good wife…" Another giggle and a light tap to Kyoya's nose, "I will serve as manager of this host club!"

Finally releasing her 'fiancé', she began prancing around the room, going on and on about all of her plans for the next few days.

"She's off her rocker…"

Tamaki nodded slightly, before bringing up his right hand to "cough", "Um… Kyoya? Would you mind-"

"She's the daughter of one of my family's key clients. Please treat her with respect. Or else."

Jin almost choked on her jolly rancher, "So… what? You're just going to lead her on until she gets to be too much? Is that it?"

"I'm simply catering to a guest. Surely you knew what you were signing up for when you joined our club, Miss Fujioka?" For a moment, the brunette and ravenet were locked in an intense staring contest, neither one of them looking happy with the other. The rest of the club remained quiet.

Finally, the girl sighed and shook her head, "I expect nothing, and yet I'm still disappointed."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond. His best friend released the breath he'd been holding and straightened up, "Well, then, if we're all in agreement… Haruhi! Jin!" The sisters looked at the President just as he, the twins, Mori-senpai, and Hunny-senpai all took off in different directions, "This one's all yours! Daddy cannot help you now!"

"You're on your own!"

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

"You can't just  _ dump _ her on us!"

Kyoya chuckled and walked off as well, "If you fail to cater to Miss Hoshakuji, you debt will increase considerably."

"How is this  _ possibly _ tied to our debt! Are you  _ kidding _ me?!" But it was too late. They were already gone, Kyoya shutting the door finitely behind him.

"I hate them."

"Join the club."

"I thought that's what I did."

"Haruhi? Jin-senpai?" The Fujiokas turned around to face their newest 'charge', "What do you think we should do tomorrow? I have to prove to Kyoya that I'm a good wife!"

Jin clenched her jaw, but then she felt a tug on her jacket sleeve. She glanced at her sister.

_ Isn't Kyoya-senpai… not the biggest fan of sweets? _

Jin thought about it, then grinned, "Yes, Renge. I think we have the  _ perfect _ idea."

*\/*

"Haruhi! Haruhi! Do I add the sugar to the cream now?"

The short brunette glanced up from pulling her own cookies out of the oven, "Oh, yes. How're you doing with the chocolate?"

"It's melting great! See!"

"YEOW! Not on direct heat! It'll separate!" Rushing over, Haruhi put the cookie tray on a cooling rack and pulled the pot off the stove. Sighing, she guided Renge back to the counter and started showing her how to use a double boiler, "See? You need to heat water in the saucepan, and once that's done-"

"Then you add the chocolate?"

"Not in the water!"

_ Plip! _

"Oops! I'm sorry! I'm so silly!" Renge giggled as Haruhi gave up and started prepping the chocolate herself. She was starting to regret this dumb plan of 'revenge'. "Wow, Haruhi! You're good at this! Where'd you learn?"

Haruhi smiled softly, pointing over her shoulder towards the other side of the music room's kitchen, "Where else?"

Across the room, Jin was humming along to herself as she pulled open the second oven, the scent of gooey brownies wafting through the air. Nearby was a fryer that was powering down, a group of filled donuts with a strange brownish hard glaze covering only the top of them cooling beside it. There were also quite a few plates of various cookies and chocolates piled high around her designated 'work area'.

Renge blinked, "Wow… she's  _ really _ good."

"Yeah. Nēchan's pretty great at almost everything she tries. Making sweets is no exception!" Haruhi smiled, missing out on the way Renge was frowning at the chocolate water in front of her.

Just outside of the kitchen, the rest of the Host Club was watching the three girls float around in their aprons. Tamaki even had tears in his eyes.

"I could watch her all day… she's so cute!" The others nodded along, cooing as Haruhi once again ran to Renge's rescue. Jin glanced up and smiled as Renge started nodding along to her sister's explanation, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear before happily pulling apart one of her Crème brûlée donuts with a satisfying ' _ crack _ '.

Back in the hallway, Kyoya finally joined the other boys at the doorway, "What  _ are _ they doing? They've been in there for over an hour."

"They're making snacks for you, Kyo-chan!"

"Oh… are they now?"

"I think it was Jin-senpai's idea. She's pretty good at it, too. Check out all of those sweets!"

Hikaru snorted, leaning an elbow on his brother's shoulder, "At least she's doing better than Renge. And  _ she _ intends to manage  _ us? _ Poor Haruhi… I don't care what you say, Kyoya-senpai, I'm not touching anything she gives me."

Tamaki scoffed, "Don't you idiots realize what's really going on? It's  _ obvious _ that Jin has joined in on our cause! The three of them are now trapped in a room filled with the scent of baking… It's the latest phase of our big project to get Haruhi to awaken to her femininity!"

The twins pursed their lips, "Really…? Are you sure it's not because Jin-senpai knows that Kyoya-senpai doesn't like sweets?"

"In such a congenial and uniquely feminine atmosphere," he continued, not listening, "Haruhi's subconscious will realize-"

"Zip it, Faker."

Tamaki's next move put him in the corner, huddled over like a beggar. Renge glared after him for a few moments before prancing out of the kitchen with a pile of smoldering…  _ things _ in her hand.

"Hi, Kyoya~ Haruhi taught me how to make a common folk's cookie! I must confess I've never baked before, so I was a little nervous…"

Kyoya's smile was clearly hiding his grimace as he regarded the "cookies", "I see. They have a rather… deep color."

_ Yeah, because they're burned to a crisp. _ Jin shook her head as she and Haruhi followed their 'charge' out into the music room, carrying a few piles of Jin's own treats, which were thankfully helpful in masking the burning scent coming from Renge's batch.

"Yeah, I suppose they're a  _ tad _ over done... I had no idea commoners had such difficult recipes!"

" _ Is it going to bug me if I don't explain how wrong she is..? _ " Jin thought it over, " _ Nah. I'll be okay. _ Um, can someone help me with all of these sweets? I think I went a little overboard."

The other host club boys looked between Renge's black cookies and Jin's promising mountain of sweets. They took off for the Fujioka's without a second thought. Most of them didn't notice how Renge's grip on her cookies had tightened. One poor cookie shattered in a spray of black dust between her thumb and pointer finger. She did manage to reconstruct her expression just as the hosts finished placing Jin's sweets on a nearby table.

"Boys~ Could you please be dears and sample these cookies? I worked so hard on them…" Seemingly relieved that Renge hadn't asked  _ him _ to eat the cookies, Kyoya leveled a dark look over the girl's head that read ' _ or else _ '. The boys groaned to themselves before moping back over to the new girl. Jin watched in confusion, but didn't think much of Renge's cold tone. She turned back to face her own goodies.

_ Maybe I should pack them up into Tupperware for the boys to take home? Haru and I can't possibly eat all of this, even with Dad helping us! _

Across the way, Hunny took a small nibble and made a face, "Mmm… not very good. I thought cookies were supposed to be yummy…"

_ HIIISSSS! _

"WAAAAH! MUUUUMMY! JIIIINN-CHAAAN!"

Jin spun around just in time to catch an armful of Hunny-senpai, who immediately began crying into her shoulder. She stared in shock as Renge hissed and chased after a few of the other boys who also made less-than-kind comments about her burnt cookies.  _ She's crazy! _

Of course, that wasn't the only crazy thing happening at the moment. One of the twins, Kaoru, took a moment to lick a spare drop of cream off of Haruhi's cheek, prompting Tamaki to break out of his depressive state and start blurting out French swear words aimed at the twins. Jin's eyes widened a little at the language. She hadn't expected that of Tamaki.

As the blond began shouting for the police when Haruhi didn't flip out (not that Jin was surprised, after all, since she babysat most of the kids in their apartment complex and she and Haruhi had been licked numerous times before) Jin noticed Renge's quietness. She was watching the way Tamaki was overreacting, looking oddly criticizing.

Spotting Jin's eyes on her, the French girl casually walked around the quad of students shouting at each other. Hunny whimpered a bit when she came closer, so Jin started stroking his hair like she had earlier. Renge hummed before reaching out and pinching Hunny's cheek. Not softly like Jin had with Haruhi just yesterday, but  _ hard. _

The small boy yelped and pulled away, crying harder.

"Tepid."

"What?"

"All of your characters, except for Kyoya, are  _ tepid! _ " Renge whirled around, glaring at the hosts one by one, "There's no depth! No shading! No  _ angst! _ Women love to swoon over tragic, handsome men, and you're giving them  _ nothing! _ Without that, men are just silly and stupid and boring! And that will not do for Kyoya's shop!"

"Wait, Renge, that's not entirely-"

"This calls for some major character revision! Starting with  _ you! _ " Hunny squeaked as she almost poked his forehead with her accusing finger. "Being cute inside and out is too one-dimensional! From now on you're cute on the outside, but on the inside you're a  _ ravening monster! _ "

"GYAAAAH!"

Jin's eyes went wide.  _ She's divorced from reality… does she think she's jumped into a video game? _ She almost said something, but was cut off when Renge turned her sights on her.

" _ You _ might be the mother-like figure for these boys now, but that's not going to work if they're going to be riddled with angst! Instead, you're the Overprotective Older Sister! You're Haruhi's older sister who prefers to be alone to protect her fragile heart… unless your brother is in danger- then you become a raging ball of hormones and violence!"

"Uh… I'm already Haru's older sister?"

Renge ignored her, turning to the other boys, "Mori-senpai! You will hover over Hunny-senpai, consumed by concern for him! Your every rare utterance will be  _ profound! _ The twins will agonize over how their similarity constrains their individuality! Especially in… yes, the basketball club! Haruhi… hmm… poor in wealth and family, yet a student at this school… that'll do, but you'll also have to be battling your love for your older sister and your animosity towards her for only showing up when you're in danger! And Tamaki! Praised and idolized everywhere because of his appearance, but doesn't even know who he really is! 'The Lonely King'!"

Silence overtook the room once more. Jin and Hunny looked at each other in concern before she set him down to let him run to Mori-senpai, "Hey, Kyoya? Are you  _ sure _ there isn't anything you could say to calm her down to some degree?"

"What would you suggest, Miss Fujioka? After all, you and Haruhi are in charge of her while she's here. And look…" Kyoya smirked coldly before pointing a little ways behind the others, "...our president is getting quite into it."

That was true. Tamaki was leaning dramatically against the wall of the music room, rambling about abject loneliness while Renge watched in excitement.

"Sellout."

Kyoya chuckled, "Let's just see how it goes, shall we? Could be interesting…"

Jin glared in the boy's direction for a moment before scoffing, grabbing her sister's elbow, "Come on, Haru. Let's go home."

*\/*

Screams echoed around Ouran Academy's largest gymnasium as a redheaded boy shot a basketball towards the hoop.

_ Swish! _

The stands roared with approval as the boy wearing an 'Ouran 16' jersey ran towards the rest of his team, receiving multiple pats on the back. 'Ouran 61' smirked as he handed off a towel to his twin.

"Nice shot."

"Thanks."

"Smile for the fans."

As one, the boys turned and waved at the crowd, who began cheering louder. Two different chants started at the same time. Different words, but same tempo… and they sort of meant the same thing.

"OU-RAN'S ACE! OU-RAN'S ACE!"

"HI-TA-CHIIN! HI-TA-CHIIN!"

A whistle cut sharply through the air and the two looked away, giving each other high fives as Kaoru took Hikaru's place in the game. Their coach claimed that, with two equally skilled players on the team, it made more sense to have them rotate throughout the game, to give them plenty of rest between scoring.

Of course, the real reason was so their coach wouldn't tell 'Hikaru' to get onto the floor when it was Kaoru who was sitting out. His attempt to trick the boys into thinking that he'd sorted the two of them out. It didn't help that sometimes they switched jerseys, just to keep things interesting.

A water bottle was pressed into his hand, and he offered a slight nod to his fellow teammate before sitting down with a soft grunt.  _ I need to have a talk with my doctor about my joints. _

The screams and roars of the stadium picked up once more as the game went back into play mode. Sighing, Hikaru shut his eyes and let the sound wash over him. Usually he watched his brother, because while Hikaru was an amazing offensive player,  _ Kaoru _ was a genius with his defense. Yet another reason the two switched often. Hikaru scored a few points, then his twin made sure the opposing team couldn't catch up while he caught his breath. Of course, that wasn't to say that they couldn't play the other side once in awhile… it was a matter of preferences. But for now, he simply needed to rest his eyes...

He wasn't sure what made him open them again, the whistle blast or the shocked gasps from the crowds. But either way, he sat up and saw a student on the ground.

Jumping to his feet, Hikaru's water bottle rolled away to create a puddle nearby, "Kaoru!"

"Get the stretcher! Take him to the doctor!"

"Kaoru..!" The med team lifted his brother onto a stretcher just as he was able to stumble back onto the court. Hikaru threw himself down next to his injured brother, hesitantly reaching out. His brother's right knee was swelling up, and the kneecap looked… out of place.

"Torn ligament, most likely. I'm sorry, Hikaru, the game's still on. Without your brother, we need you more than ever-"

A hand touched his shoulder, but he smacked it away, "Shut up! Leave me alone!"

"Hikaru?" Kaoru was panting heavily, and wincing every time his body shifted, but he managed to grab his brother's hand, "It's going to be okay. We can't… share everything. It's my pain… and your game is still on. Go."

Hikaru felt the tears start, so he squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his brother's hand, "I can't! It hurts! It hurts, Kaoru!"

_ Because it's not your pain! It's ours. If no one understands… then too bad! We have each other… we're here for each other… that's how it's always been. _

" _ Hikaru? Hika _ ru! Hikaru, are you alright?"

The boy's eyes snapped open as large drops of water struck the back of his skull. Gasping, Hikaru stared straight ahead for a few moments longer. All he could see was black tarmac, which was wet with rain. Breath shaking, he looked up at his twin's face just as all the right memories fell into place.  _ It was just… a memory. That's right. _

"K...Kaoru?"

"Hikaru." Kaoru reached out to cup his brother's face, grounding him further to reality, "Can you tell me where are we, right now?"

"We...we're on the school's outdoor basketball court."

"Right. Now, why are we out here?"

"Practicing. For next week's game." He gasped again, feeling his hands shake beneath him, "It's… raining. You said we should stay out here anyways. Th-then... you tripped. I don't… what... " Hikaru blinked, breathing heavily through his nose, "Why am I on the ground?"

Kaoru sighed and drop his hands back onto his lap, sitting down in front of his brother. There was a black knee brace wrapped around his right leg. "You blacked out again. Hikaru, you've got to stop doing that. That injury happened three months ago. I'm  _ fine. _ This can't go on."

"But you got  _ hurt. _ " Hikaru grabbed his brother's hands, "I took my eyes off of you for  _ one second _ and... and I couldn't help you! How am I supposed to forget that?!" He buried his face into his brother's shoulder, letting the angry tears roll down his cheeks, disguised by the rain that had soaked the brothers through.

The low, humorless chuckle that sounded from the edge of the court almost blended perfectly with the sound of heavy raindrops pounding the cement. The twins quickly looked towards the tree line that gave this basketball court it's highly desired feeling of secrecy. The darkness and the sudden heaviness of the rain made it hard to make out exactly who it was, but the next moment the figure spoke, making him impossible to mistake.

"I apologize for interrupting, but... I have to say, I'm envious of you. Never alone, supporting each other to the bitter end. I can only imagine…"

Hikaru squinted at the figure as the rain let up a little, "Suoh-senpai?" Yup, it was Ouran Academy's number 1 pretty boy. He was devoid of his school jacket and looked drenched from head to toe. He must've been out in this rain for as long as they had been.

"How would you be envious of...  _ us _ ?"

"Yeah, decent basketball players are one thing, but to be the school's idol..."

The blond chuckled, the sad, almost dead look never leaving his eyes, making them look more grey than their usual bright purple. The twins were shocked. They'd never seen their senpai like this. Most days he was laughing, smiling at the girls he passed with a carefree sort of aura around him, breezing down the hallways in the way only he could. This… this was a completely stranger.

"An idol, huh? That's what they're calling it now? If  _ that's  _ what all the praise and attention I get is about, then perhaps I shouldn't encourage them so much. At least you two have a skill. Being worship over something as superficial as my appearance? I'm probably better off alone."

" _ Oof! _ "

The three boys look back at the other end of the court to see yet  _ another _ boy out in the storm. It took less time for them to recognize this person, as the rain was growing lighter by the second. Fujioka-san. Haruhi… the boy. He was one of the two commoner siblings who had tested into the school on intelligence alone. His older sister was nowhere to be found, but considering the boy looked like he was on the run, it probably wouldn't take long for her to appear from the shadows she seemed to always lurk in. As it was, Haruhi was on his knees, probably from tripping over a tree root or something, and for two seconds, the brunet boy stared up at them all. His big, brown, girlish eyes seemed to be pleading with them. The mud on his uniform made him all the more pitiful.

But if Fujioka-san was out here, then that could only mean one thing.

"I'd suggest you keep running, commoner. He won't hold back, even if there are others present."

The honor student's shoulders deflated before he scrambled back to his feet and took off again, heading deeper into the treeline. The three watched, feeling something… strange, pulling at their insides. A feeling… of wanting to help.

Haruhi's shoes slapped the muddy ground, kicking up puddles that stained the bottom hems of his pants. The rain was letting up, making it easier to see, but no less difficult to actually navigate the shadowy tree roots crisscrossing the ground. His legs were so weak, and his uniform clung tightly to his body, restricting his movements with the cold rainwater it had soaked up. There were mud stains on his knees and the palms of his hands, but he dare not stop. Not stop. Not stop. Not…

The brunette had to stop. He stumbled to a drier piece of dirt and pressed his hands against a tree, taking in deep breaths and trying to not hack up a lung.

"End of the line, pauper."

Haruhi gasped and spun around, ready to run, only to have his legs slide out from under him. He had no energy left. The last of it had been spent when he'd silently begged for help from the star basketball players and the school's idol… only to be turned away and left to fend for himself. Or… perhaps not?

_ Please… it has to be now! You've never let me down before... _

"Remember, when you go up against me,  _ this is what you get. _ " Haruhi shook with fear, wishing he'd never gone back for the bento box he'd forgotten in his classroom. Then he wouldn't have bumped into Mitsukuni Haninozuka, the school's main bully, and have been chased and terrorized for half a day.

"Mitsukuni… you must stop."

Haruhi sucked in a quick breath as Takashi Morinozuka came up from behind them.  _ He must've followed us. _ It was known by everyone that Mitsukuni-senpai's only childhood friend, who had flunked out right before high school, was the only person in the this world who could hold back the boy's rage every once in awhile.  _ Please, let this be one of those times. _

"To hurt others… is to hurt yourself instead."

"What did I say about questioning my actions,  _ Takashi?  _ Keep that in mind… my next scolding may be more… severe." The tall boy sighed, but looked away, not answering. He'd offer no more help.

_ Please… _ Haruhi felt like he was praying more for the help of a deity than-

"There are those who must learn their place… after all."

Haruhi swallowed and squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the blow… but it never came. Instead, the leaves in the tree he was leaning against rustled before something dropped down in front of him. He almost cried with relief.

" _ Nēchan! _ "

Straightening up, Jin Fujioka glared heavily at the two boys in front of her, "I'm going to say this once… leave… my brother…  _ alone. _ This is your  _ final _ warning."

"Tch…" Mitsukuni sneered, "Ah… the benevolent sister returns from her solitude. You know, it you truly cared for your brother, you might not only show up when he needs you to beat someone up because he's too weak."

"Okay, I was going to let you off with a warning," the girl crouched down into a fighting pose, her eyes glinting with malice, "But now you've made this  _ personal. _ " She growled, but the blond only laughed.

"Well, then, looks like I'm in for a treat. Not only do I get to beat up the loser, but also his bi-"

Hunny cut off, eyes filling with tears before jumping at Jin with his arms outstretched for a hug, "WAAAAH! I'm so sorry, Jin-chan! I won't be mean anymore! I can't do it!"

And just like that, the scene broke.

"CUT! CUT CUT CUT! What are you  _ doing?  _ You have to stick to the script! And put some feeling into it, why don'tcha, Jin-senpai? Okay, take five, everyone! AND MAKE THAT RAIN MORE MELANCHOLY! I WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE LIQUID DEPRESSION!"

" _ I'm sure that's offensive to everyone in the world who struggles with depression, _ " Jin muttered under her breath, but instead of confronting the crazy girl about it, simply followed her sister offset and towards the towels, Hunny still cradled in her arms. Setting the boy down by the towels, she began handing them out to the rest of the wet hosts, "So, where'd she get the film crew? And so quickly, too?"

"Hollywood, looks like. Of course, her father is the CFO of all of the Ohtori hospitals in France, so it's not like she lacks the funds to pay them." Kyoya smirked and readjusted his glasses, "What? Did you think she got into this school on a scholarship like you and Haruhi?" Jin scowled, but didn't respond to his goading.

Hikaru and Kaoru leaned against each other, "So, what was her reasoning for this movie about our characters?"

"Didn't she say something about opening footage?"

Jin scoffed, "Isn't it obvious? I did some research last night, and all of our characters are straight out of Uki Doki Memorial... even me. She's trying to blend her fantasies with reality. Probably to better justify the similarities between Kyoya and 'Miyabi' in her head." The brunette shook her head, "This is crazy... and I'm starting to worry about what else she's got up her sleeve. The game's story line... has me concerned."

"Hey, Jin-senpai?"

"Not to cover up your concern... but haven't you noticed-"

"-that Renge seems to have it out for you today?"

The girl winced, "I was... hoping I was imagining that."

Head shakes were her response, Haruhi giving her sister a look of pity right before she was called away by their obnoxious President. That was exactly what Jin had been afraid of. She wasn't sure what exactly had set the other girl off, but today Renge had been downright  _ nasty _ to Jin. Ignoring her questions, even when they pertained to the movie. Giving her a bunch of 'chores' to do around the set when she wasn't acting, leaving her almost  _ no  _ time to rest. Writing her the  _ shortest _ script. And even giving her more of an 'out of control' sort of character. Now, Jin's character went on psychotic rampages once she was angry, and never talked to anyone unless she was threatening them away from Haruhi.

"Yeah, I wish I knew why-"

"Jin-senpai! Would you come over here, please? You'll have enough time to gossip once this movie's done!"

Groaning, the girl flung her towel into the laundry basket provided, " _ Here we go. _ " She kicked up her left leg in a skip before jogging along the side of the school. All around her, cameramen and boom-mic guys rushed around to prepare for the next couple scenes.  _ Well... if they don't get a break, then I guess it's fair that I don't either. _

Rounding the corner, she slowed down, "Okay, Renge. What do-" She stopped, mouth falling open at the sight of two rough-looking students staring back at her.

"Oh, there you are, Jin-senpai! I would like these gentlemen who were passing by the set to appear in our production! Could you fill them in on what we've filmed so far?"

The brunette blinked a few times, "Uh... sure? But why do we-"

"We need  _ villains! _ These boys will harass your brother, but they're too strong for you to defeat yourself! Our heroes, that's the host club, will have to unite to stop their rein of terror! That will affirm their friendship! And these two are perfect!"

At Renge's declaration, the two boys leaned away, looking almost hurt, "Hey! We're not villains!"

"We're swell guys!"

Jin's eyes widened, "Renge! Stop! This has gone on far-"

"Of course, in the spectacular ending, it will be Kyoya's moving words that will persuade even the worst elements of this school to be nice and fly right!"

"H-hey! We're not the worst elements!"

"No! Renge!" Jin barely managed to not stomp her foot out of frustration. Why couldn't she just  _ listen? _ "Look, just because someone  _ looks _ a certain part doesn't mean that's what they're really like!"

The other girl stared at her blankly for a split second before waving a hand, "I'm sure you're trying to prove a point or something, but we can't do that right now! You can waste time  _ later _ ," Renge grabbed one of the boys by an arm and started dragging him, "I'll need  _ you _ over  _ here _ , and when I give you your cue-"

"Woah! Cut it out! Don't think you can push us around just 'cause you're in the A class!"

Jin realized the danger about two seconds before all hell broke loose. The angry tone in the boy's voice and how close he and Renge were to the scaffolding... she shouted for them to stop just as the boy shoved Renge away, making her fall towards the scaffolding. The girl screamed in surprise and Jin ran towards her, an arm reached out to grab Renge's wrist, but someone else raced around the corner at that exact moment and launched themselves between Renge and the tower holding up the lights.

_ KRANG! _

Haruhi yelped as she was squished in between the metal poles and Renge's body. Jin felt like her heart was jammed into her throat as she watched her little sister fall to the ground with a whimper.

Her vision went red.

"I-I'm sorry...  _ eep! _ "

The boy's eyes went wide when Jin's fist shot out to grab his shirt collar. He screamed loudly the next moment when he was thrown over the girl's shoulder to land flat on his back, knocking all the air out of his lungs. His buddy shouted in concern, but seemed to hesitate between running to his friend's aid or running away... Jin, however, did _ not _ hesitate. Her foot connected with his gut before spinning around in the opposite direction and kicking against the guy's back to knock him to the ground.

The Class D students gasped and wheezed in the dirt, but Jin wasn't concerned. She'd only knocked the air out of them to teach them a lesson, not permanently harm them... well, besides their ego.

"What happened?"

"We heard shouting!"

"HARUHI!" Tamaki launched into the clearing, eyes wild as they darted between Haruhi's bent form and the two students on the ground, "Who is responsible... what happened here?"

Jin brushed her hands together, "I took care of it." She glared at the boys, who were just starting to push themselves onto their knees, "Get out of here, before we get a teacher involved."

They needed no further prompting.

As they ran off, Jin hurried towards her little sister. Tamaki and the twins were coddling her, but they backed away when she came closer. Softly cupping her cheeks, Jin rubbed her thumbs across Haruhi's tear tracks.

"Haru..." her brown eyes squinted, spotting something pressed between Haruhi's right eyelashes, "Stay still."

She reached up, gently pinching the clear object, and pulled it away. It popped open between her fingers. A contact lens.

"Got it."

Haruhi blinked her teary eyes open, gasping in relief, "Thanks."

"You scared me to death, you little shit. And it was only your contact!" Jin laughed as her sister took the contact back before hugging her tightly, "Don't do that again!" Haruhi laughed into Jin's shoulders, using her left hand to hug back, right hand curled in between their bodies to hold the contact.

"Jin-chan! Haru-chan! Is everyone alright?"

Hunny and Mori rushed around the corner, as the siblings pulled away from each other. Jin nodded, a teasing smile on her lips as the small blond ran up to them. "Yeah, we're fine. Some jerks decided to push Renge, but Haruhi stepped in before she got hurt. I... took care of them."

"Oh, really?" Hunny giggled and Mori smiled soflty, their eyes twinkling with mischief, "How did you do that, then?"

Jin rolled her eyes, "You know where. I'm just glad I didn't forget what we were taught. It's been awhile since I practiced my karate skills."

"HUH?!"

Laughing at the faces on Tamaki and the twins, Hunny happily climbed onto Mori's back and smiled down at his other friends, "Can we tell them now, Jin-chan? Huh? Can we?"

"Sure, Hunny-kun. Might as well."

"HUNNY- _ KUN? _ "

"Yeah." Jin smiled sheepishly, "I kinda... knew Hunny-kun and Mori-kun before I even came to Ouran."

"Jin-chan trained at my family's dojo with us when we were younger! We've been friends for a long time!" Hunny giggled again as Kaoru stumbled against his twin's side, "We didn't want to tell you at first, so you guys could get to know Jin-chan as herself instead of our friend... but it was too  _ hard! _ I'm just glad she can call me Hunny-kun again!"

The brunette grinned, looping an arm over her sister's shoulders, "This doesn't freak you out too much, does it?"

"No..." Tamaki was blinking rapidly, like he was trying to get an eyelash out, "But... so you... and Hunny-senpai..." His mouth opened again, but no sounds came out. After gaping for a few more seconds, he gave up.

"Wow... CAMERA! Did you get all that?!"

"Yup! In the can!"

The Fujioka's and the hosts turned around, Haruhi squinting a little as they looked towards Renge. She was fine, thanks to Haruhi, but now she seemed to be right back where she'd been  _ before _ she was 'attacked'. Jin groaned.  _ Does she never learn? _

"That was it! That's just what we needed! Haruhi, attacked and injured, and saved by his sister because she had been trained alongside the school's bully, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, who took pity on her... because he only needed a friend to understand! And after discovering the soft side of Haninozuka, the others are surprised, but decide to give him a chance! Of course, we'll have to do a lot of audio editing, and get rid of Haruhi's contact falling out... but otherwise it was  _ perfect! _ Now the only thing left to film is Kyoya's moving-"

_ SMASH _

"NO! MY CAMERA! MY BABY! IT'S RUINED! WHAT HAVE YOU  _ DONE?! _ " As the poor cameraman dropped to his knees beside the damaged technology, weeping, Renge turned around in shock.

"Kyo... Kyoya? What is the meaning-"

"Sorry to be so abrupt," Kyoya eyed the large rock in his hand before blankly looking up at the girl, "but I cannot permit recordings of our members behaving violently towards other students. It would tarnish our good name, and give those involved a bad reputation, which would leech into the club itself. As this club's  _ actual _ manager, I cannot stand by silently and play along. In fact, this whole business has been a very great bother... to us all. Time to wrap it up."

Renge made a sound like she was choking, "B-but... but why? Kyoya... you're supposed to pat my head and say 'don't worry about it'. You're supposed to..."

"Nah, not  _ our _ Kyoya." Tamaki smirked a bit, shaking his head, "While  _ your _ Kyoya might sugarcoat things to make you feel better, ours tends to live closer to reality. He's sharp, and cold... I don't think he's the one for you, Miss Hoshakuji."

The girl whimpered and fell to her knees, sniffling pitifully. Jin sighed and looked down at her sister.

_ Looks like reality finally caught up with her. _

_ Yeah... but shouldn't we help sooth the blow a little bit? _

Smiling, Jin withdrew her arm from Haruhi's shoulder and gestured towards the crying girl,  _ Go ahead. _

Blinking in surprise, but managing a small smile, the shorter brunette moved closer towards the French girl, "Hey, love arises for unfathomable reasons... but really looking at a person and getting to know them, bit by bit... that's a real relationship." She crouched down in front of Renge and smiled, "Just because it wasn't exactly where you expected it to be, that doesn't mean it's the end of the world. It's just... not time for you to find it, yet."

"Oh... I see. And," Renge glanced up at the others, "I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner. I must've been a terrible burden."

Jin managed a smile, "No burden. A little challenge, perhaps," her eyes twinkled teasingly as the girl managed a small, embarrassed giggle, "but no burden. Glad to help pull you back to the real world... as bland as it might be. Now, if you'll excuse us, I have to go get Haru some contact solution to put that thing he's holding back on his eyeball."

* The Next Afternoon *

"So..." Hikaru brought his hands up to either side of his head, like he was expecting someone to throw another basketball in his direction, and he was preparing himself to catch it, "You've known Hunny and Mori-senpai... for  _ how _ many years?"

"Ten. Or so. I think I was seven when I first joined. And considering I'm seventeen  _ now... _ "

Hikaru shook his head, "Wow... and you just  _ hid _ it from us?"

"Yeah. I wanted to see how you'd treat me as the new scholarship student and Haru's sister rather than a friend of the Haninozuka's and Morinozuka's." Jin's smile dipped a little, "Considering how your  _ Vice President _ talked about my 'social status', I wanted to get a better feel for the rest of you."

The twins grinned, "Yeah... I don't think Kyoya-senpai's forgiven himself just yet..."

"...for insulting an Honorary Haninozuka,  _ Worthy Matron Fujioka _ ."

Jin shrugged, recalling a short discussion from earlier on in the day, before shaking it out of her head, "Come on, you troublemakers, let's get set for the guests to come in." The redheads nodded, and they moved over to the couch Tamaki was lounging over. The blond smiled over his shoulder, though Jin still noticed a wary edge to it. Just like the twins... he didn't quite know how to act around Jin just yet, especially after her little revelation. Hopefully they'd get over that quickly.

Despite the Host's stupidity that came from sheltered childhoods... Jin was growing a little attached to them all. They were funny. And she liked them. Except Kyoya. But, there's always one.

The doors burst open before she could continue her thoughts, and the club's first guests practically flooded into the room, already screaming and gushing about...  _ the movie? _

"That solemn rain scene is awesome!"

"I'm just giddy over Hikaru and Kaoru's special relationship!"

"Hunny being a monster is just precious!"

"Jin's strong protectiveness over her baby brother was so heartwarming!"

"Oh, and Haruhi's sorrow was so moving..."

For a moment, the hosts stood in silence, just soaking in the girl's enthusiasm, letting them entertain themselves as the puzzle pieces slowly fitted together. Tamaki tipped his head downwards a little, letting his bangs cover his eyes.

" _ Kyoya... care to explain? _ "

"Its a rather simple matter to sneak data out of a digital camera. Of course, we did have to pay for the camera itself, but the sales from the movie will cover that easily. After editing the ending scene to only give out the impression of Miss Fujioka deflecting the perpetrators instead of actually harming them, this ended up being a pretty profitable venture."

Jin closed her eyes.  _ Of course... of course he'd find some way to wring some sort of value from this. Probably his plan from the beginning. Why am I not surprised? _ Even so, she managed to take a calming breath before opening her eyes, "Well... if you were willing to suffer Renge chasing after you for three days in order to make a little profit... who are we to deny you?"

Whatever look Kyoya might've given her, she turned away at the sound of a familiar voice joining the others.

"Renge? I thought you said..."

"I know. But I've decided to not go to France  _ just _ yet." The other brunette smiled softly before placing a hand on Jin's shoulder, unaware of the way everyone was watching in surprise, "I must apologize, Jin-senpai, I was pretty rude to you yesterday. I just didn't understand how my actions were impacting you... I'm sorry. I will make it up to you somehow."

"Uh... thanks?"

_ What is she talking about? _

"And besides. I've finally realized that the kindness needed to protect someone, whatever the cost, and the deep love that knows to scold in order to enlighten are not going to be found unless one looks and  _ sees! _ Right...  _ Haruhi? _ "

Jin blinked herself out of her thoughts just in time to see Renge pulling her little sister towards the door, Tamaki attempting to chase them down, "Wait... so Renge is now... oh."

"Hey, Kyoya-senpai..."

The boy shrugged, writing in his black journal as Renge hissed at Tamaki for trying to free Haruhi, "Let them sort it out themselves. As long as they keep me out of it. However, what was Renge referring to, Miss Fujioka? She said her actions were impacting you... how?"

"I dunno. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go rescue Haru from being someone's... boyfriend."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's strange trying to push some things around. As much as people liked my last story, I believe part of that was my ability to keep my readers on their toes and surprise them, on top of the characterization. So... trying to keep you all surprised and yet not deviating from the story line is a little difficult. I've attempted to do so by switching things around just a tad. I hope it's working so far.  
> Please let me know!


	4. Extra Episode: Hunny's Bun-Bun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, in the anime this was put into an actual episode, but for the sake of consistency I'm writing in the manga's order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To answer a question I got in the reviews: After Jin revealed how she knew Hunny and Mori, they explained how she got to be an Honorary Haninozuka. Basically how they first explained it in my last story.  
> Also, I've decided to add in 'extra chapters' either wherever I feel the need to implement my own personal story lines or whenever the manga adds a 'Love Theater' that doesn't coincide with the Host Club. Those who have read the manga know what I'm talking about.

 

_ Thud! _

_ Ting! _

_ Splish! _

The moment the teacup turned on its side, Jin ran forward to reset it, but by then it was too late. Tamaki recoiled from the other side of the table, staring at his mess in abject terror. Gently, Jin reached out and lifted a soaking wet Bun-Bun out of the puddle of tea. His cute little face was doused with the stuff, and his fluffy body had already absorbed quite a bit of the liquid.

For a brief moment, no one said a word, simply assessing in the situation.

" _ We've done it now… _ "

"We?"

"Who said anything about  _ we? _ "

" _ You're _ the one who upset the cup, Milord. We aren't involved."

Jin raised an eyebrow as the twins and Tamaki began arguing over who's fault it was for staining the poor stuffed animal. Deciding to just let them hash it out, she grabbed a few napkins from the table and started dabbing at the bunny.

From just behind her, a low voice sighed before saying, "It's outside business hours, so I don't mind you guys horsing around so much, but do you have to be so loud? You might wake Hunny-senpai."

Boy,  _ that _ sure got them. Everyone turned to face the small blond who was still fast asleep on a nearby couch, cuddled under a pale blue sheet. Jin smirked to herself before holding up the stuffed rabbit and getting a second look. The staining wasn't all that bad… after a dry cleaning he'd be good as new. The trick came from breaking the news to Hunny.

"Well, we can't possibly fix his bunny right now, so let's just wake him and apologize…"

" _ NO! _ "

Jin frantically spun around, setting the bunny on a dry part of the table before running at her sister. Before Haruhi could touch the sleeping boy, her sister grabbed her arm.

" _ That's not a good idea, Haru. _ "

" _ Why? _ "

" _ He's a grouchy riser. _ "

" _ Yeah! Listen to your sister! Now get back here where it's safe! _ "

Once they were a decent distance away from Hunny, Jin released her sister's elbow and went back to observing the stuffed bunny. He was drying off nicely, but still smelled of tea and had a large stain on his face.

"I take it you're coming up with a way to fix this complication?"

"Yeah. He just needs to be sent to a Dry Cleaners and he'll be good as new. But that usually takes up to 24 hours, so we'd need to tell Hunny-kun about it first." She suddenly shot a glare in Kyoya's direction, "And don't think I don't know what you're doing, Ohtori. I stand by what I said yesterday."

She was, of course, referring to Kyoya's poor attempt at bridging the gap of dislike he'd set up about twenty minutes after they had first met.

* _ Flashback _ *

"Miss Fujioka?"

Jin straightened up, a pile of used and slightly damp towels piled up in her arms as she watched Kyoya walk closer. She raised an eyebrow and dumped the laundry into a nearby basket. Internally, she wondered what he could possibly want to talk to her about this time. Perhaps how her 'lack of control' had almost cost him a business partner, or inform her that the costs of the camera were to be added to her debt. None of the possibilities looked good.

But instead, he surprised her.

Kyoya stood in front of her and performed a small bow, "I must apologize, Miss Fujioka, for my previous words towards you. I understand now why you found them so offensive."

"Wait… what?"

The boy straightened up, "At the Christmas party, I called you a 'commoner' and have since continued to group you in with that stereotype. I was not aware of your connection to the Haninozuka family."

"Right… let me stop you right there."

"Pardon?"

Jin crossed her arms, leaning her weight onto her left leg, "You're right. That 'commoner' comment is the reason I got mad at you in the first place. Because unlike the  _ other _ rich people I've met, you were the first one who used that word on me as an insult. You are no better than I am just because you have a cushier bank account." She turned around to walk away, paused, and then glanced over her left shoulder, "On that note: who I know, or don't know, shouldn't affect how you treat me as a person either. Apologizing just because I'm basically family for Hunny-kun and Mori-kun is not going to win you any points with me. Just so you know."

* _ End Flashback _ *

Kyoya didn't respond in any way other than pressing his lips into a thin line, but Jin was already focusing back on the matter at hand. She had walked over to break her decision to the boys when she heard their reasoning for Hunny's less-than-pleasant reaction to being woken up.

"...and here's the kicker: Hunny-senpai's blood is type AB! A split personality!"

"Uh… not exactly."

"But that's the same as Kyoya's!"

Jin almost laughed out loud when her sister fell over herself backing up, actual fear shining in her eyes. She knew that from that point on, Haruhi would never see someone with AB blood the same. Behind her, Kyoya muttered something, probably not entirely pleased with the comparison, but once again she ignored him.

Lightly nudging her little sister with her knee, Jin tilted her head to the side, "Guys, you can relax. We can get Bun-Bun cleaned easily…  _ without _ using a medium to contact Hunny-kun's grandmother." Tamaki lowered the map in his hands in disappointment, "But it's going to take a while to clean him up, so we have to find a way to gently break the news to him."

On the other side of the room, Hunny turned over in his sleep, the sound sending chills down the Host Club's spines.

Tamaki leapt to his feet, "That settles it then! Jin! You and Mori-senpai take Bun-Bun away to get cleaned. And while you're away… Haruhi! Put on this bunny suit."

The sisters exchanged a glance with each other before Jin hesitantly held out her left arm towards Haruhi. The younger brunette pinched it before offering her own arm, which Jin pinched in kind.

Nope. They weren't dreaming.

With that reassurance, Haruhi turned and ran. Of course, she didn't get far before Tamaki shot his arm out and caught her by the back of her jacket. Jin attempted to cut in and allow her sister to escape, but with a wet Bun-Bun in her arms and not wanting to stain her own uniform, she had to keep a distance. Besides, Hunny made a small sound that sounded like 'waking-up' noises.

" _ Tamaki! Haru! Keep it down! _ "

They didn't listen. Or couldn't hear her over their own shouting.

"Guys!"

Too late.

" _ Mmmmah… _ " Hunny groggily sat up and rubbed at his eyes, his blond hair a crazed mess from his tossing and turning. There was a cow lick on the back of his head that would've been cute if the Hosts weren't worried for their safety at the moment.

Faster than Jin could remember seeing him move before, Tamaki released her sister and bolted towards Hunny, grabbing something out of his school bag and delicately tossing it onto the 3rd-year's lap before running back behind the couch. She watched as her friend slowly opened his eyes and stare at the fluffy brown teddy bear now resting on top of his blanket. The twins were snickering, but were otherwise too nervous to really tease Tamaki about having a stuffed animal.

There were five consecutive seconds of silence where they all waited for Hunny's sleepy verdict.

_ FWUMP! _

Tamaki stifled a high pitched scream as his teddy bear was slammed onto the tiled floor. Slowly, Hunny dragged himself off the couch and started walking over to the table he'd left his stuffed bunny on, blanket dragging along behind him.

Of course, Bun-Bun was still in Jin's hands.

Hunny looked over at the others, his eyes pressed into a sleepy squint, "Where's… Bun-Bun?"

Taking in a deep breath, Jin walked over to her friend and offered the stained toy. He took it, regarding the dark tea that had soaked into his beloved bunny before looking up at the brunette almost uncomprehendingly, but Jin knew he was simply holding back his rage.

"How'd he get...  _ dirty? _ " Behind her, she could hear Tamaki and the twins whimpering in fear.  _ Oh man… they're never going to leave me alone after this. But it's not like I have another option. _

She sighed, "It was my fault, Hunny-kun. He wanted some tea and I was clumsy and spilled over him."

In the resulting silence of her lie, you could've heard a pin drop.

"I see! So  _ that's  _ why his face stained! Oh, but it's okay, Jin-chan, you were so nice and it was an honest mistake!" Hunny giggled before lifting the stuffed rabbit into the air like a Lion King reenactment, "He probably needs to go get washed, but before I take him do you think he'd like some cake, too?"

Jin smiled, "I bet he would. You go find yourselves a table and I'll get the cake."

"Yay~" Hunny bounded off with a big smile on his face, not even sparing the others a glance. Therefore, he completely missed the mixed expressions of horror, gratitude, and awe as Jin sighed once again.

"Well, I'm glad that went better than last time."

Tamaki slowly sunk to his knees, quickly followed by the twins, "W-what happened last time?"

"He didn't believe that I was the one who made the mess. Thankfully he believed that Mori-kun did." Jin pressed her hands to the small of her back and stretched, "Now, while I'm getting the cake I promised, can one of you boys clean up the tea?"

The twins scrambled back to their feet, using Tamaki's face as a way to haul themselves up before springing into action. The tall blond was right behind them, the three shouting at each other that they'd be the one to clean up the mess first.

Jin smirked and went to walk towards the kitchen when she was stopped.

"Why did you lie for them?"

Brushing past Kyoya, the brunette slipped her hands into her pockets and shrugged, "Why not?" She knew Kyoya was staring at her as she continued to walk away, but she didn't look back at him.

Again, she was sticking to her word. Empty apologies weren't going to win her any points... but if Kyoya could figure out how to act like a decent person and an actual friend who wasn't using the other's for their influence... perhaps she could grow to tolerate him. But until then, he needed to see how friends behave around each other. And like it or not, Jin was the best one for that job.

_ Oh, joy. _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, sticking with Jin's character, she is angry towards Kyoya for his higher-than-thou attitude, but has yet to give up on him being a good person, especially if she has to be around him all the time. To clarify, she's not trying to 'change' him, if he's an asshole she'll give up (even though we know he's not) but she's trying to show him what she believes friends do for each other.  
> On a couple side notes, I'm completely obsessed with the new Beauty and the Beast movie, especially Lefou's new character arc, and I've joined the Thomas Sanders fandom in shipping Prinxiety and Logicality and I've even written a fic, if you're interested.


	5. Ouran Theater of Love ~ Suoh Family Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My first Ouran Theater!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the first time in two weeks that I haven't had a project due immediately within the next day. Of course, there is one in two days… but details, details. Either way, some updates. I'm currently binge listening to the 'Dear Evan Hansen' soundtrack and I blame Thomas Sanders, whom I finally subscribed to. Oh, and I'm starting to question whether I should change my major. I always thought being an Accountant would be the best for me… but now I'm not so sure. My mom suggested becoming an Editor and… now the idea won't leave me alone. Hm…

 

 

"Welcome to our happy family!" Tamaki smiled broadly and gestured outwards to the readers, holding an omiyage in his hands like he'd always wanted to do, "I am the family's great pillar and patriarch, Tamaki! In case that wasn't clear by the suit!"

Flipping his bangs out of his eyes, he turned around and shouted through the small house, "Haruhi~ Come out here and introduce yourself!"

From the back corner, a small brunette girl peeked out of the kitchen, "I'm making dinner."

"It can wait! You're almost done, right?"

Sighing, the girl set the ladle in her hands down on the counter and walked out into the sitting room, wiping her hands on her apron, which Tamaki had insisted on, "Hi, I guess. I'm Haruhi, the only daughter in this family and elected housekeeper, which is kinda sexist-"

"And we're the keepers of fun and joy, the only sons!" Hikaru and Kaoru jumped beside the brunette, hugging her quickly and rubbing their cheeks against her temples. Haruhi made a disgruntled sound and tried to shove her 'brother's' off, to little success. It wasn't until a taller brunette walked out of the kitchen as well, her long hair tied up in a messy bun, that was paired up nicely with her black tank-top and black and green yoga pants.

She smiled softly at the scene before shaking her head, "Okay, boys, why don't you go set the table? Dinner's almost ready."

"Aww..." The twins grumbled a little, but trudged away. Haruhi sighed and smiled at the other girl before hurrying back into the kitchen. The tall girl watched her go before spotting the readers over her shoulder, "Oh! Hi there!"

She turned around to face them completely, lifting a hand in greeting and smiling a little wider, "I'm Jin, the Aunt. On Tamaki's side."

Haruhi poked her head out of the kitchen while the twins glanced at her from the table. Hikaru raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yeah. I refuse to be related to Kyoya." The girl suddenly looked back at the readers, her eyes widening in confusion. She wasn't sure why, but they had all simultaneously started laughing out loud. She hadn't thought that line was that funny...

Off to the side, Kyoya was glaring daggers at the brunette still in the sitting room before clearing his throat and lifting the family's budget ledger, gesturing for the camera to move over to him. He smiled pleasantly at the readers, a few still giggling, even closing his eyes for effect, "And I'm Kyoya, the Mother. I'm in charge of the family's finances."

"We are poor… but happy!" Tamaki concluded as he and the others sat down at a small table, beginning to munch at the even smaller meal. Well, all except for Kyoya. He was lounging in the sitting room still, perched on a lavishly decorated couch beneath a dazzling chandelier, glass of champagne in his hand. Jin glared at the back of his head before returning to the meal.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is super short. I knew it would be short. But I did not anticipate just how short. Damn.  
> If you liked this, despite it's shortness, please favorite or follow or review… if you can find something within this short thing to review about. The shortness of this bit is really getting to me, have you noticed?  
> See you next chapter!


	6. Episode 4!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay… okay… two months behind schedule. That's… a thing now. But I'm back! I know I could make a bunch of excuses, but I'm just going to apologize and get right into the story. So, I'm sorry. I'll try to keep up from now on.

 

"Welcome ladies!"

As if on cue, a gust of wind scattered thousands of cherry blossoms throughout the courtyard, gently caressing the cheeks of the Host Club and their newly arrived guests. The girls gasped before hurrying through the gates, eager to begin their favorite part of the school day.

Ten minutes later and Jin was quietly roaming the little cherry tree grove, the hummed melody of 'Waving Through a Window' vibrating in her throat. Her brown eyes swept across the various hosting spots around her, but it didn't look like she was needed at the moment. Her lips pursed slightly when she realized just how quickly she'd become desensitized to the hosts and their flirtation methods. It was a little unsettling, to be quite honest.

Jin sighed to herself, song cutting out abruptly. She'd known it would've happened eventually, of course… just not this soon. Then again, perhaps it was a good thing that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable or confused any longer than was necessary.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she noticed a little commotion over by Hunny and Mori's mat. Spotting her sister with the two boys, Jin started walking over. She was only a few feet away when Haruhi stood up and began approaching her.

Jin raised an eyebrow,  _ Everything okay? _

_ Just… too much drama. Taking a break. _

_ Okay. Need anything? _

_ Nah. _

The taller brunette nodded her head once in understanding before continuing towards the cousins and kneeling down, "Hey everyone. How's it going?"

"Hunny made us tea!" Jin smiled back at the girls, but eyed the dark wet patches on the mat.  _ Looks like he got really into it, too… I wonder how much tea was actually left in the bowl by the time Mori spoke up... _

Instead of asking, she only continued to smile, "How wonderful!"

One of the girls leaned forward a little bit, the one who was in Jin's class with her, "Oh, Jin, have you chosen your electives for the semester, yet? Are you taking any more language classes?"

"Mmm… I've thought about taking a JSL course. I already know quite a bit of ASL so it would make sense I suppose. Greek sounds interesting, too. But there are a few art courses I'm interested in, not to mention the music classes. Or maybe advanced mathematics? I'm not sure yet. Ouran offers so many electives I'm have a hard time deciding on just a few."

"What about Tamaki and Kyoya?" the same girl inquired, "Are you three thinking about taking classes together?"

"No." Jin popped a cherry jolly rancher into her mouth, "We don't have similar interests, so why would we?"

"Well, I heard that the twins wanted to take their electives with Haruhi. They seem to be getting along really well!"

Jin raised her left eyebrow, glancing over her shoulder at where her sister was currently being squeezed in between the two redheads, a list of the available elective courses held in front of them. To say the least, the brunette was a little surprised by the scene. Haruhi pretty much avoided all conversation about the host club when she could, but perhaps she was growing closer to the twins than she let on?

Her brown eyes slid past the trio and landed on her own classmates who were only a few feet away. Tamaki was curled in on himself by a tree while Kyoya scribbled inside his black journal, as per usual. Jin pursed her lips slightly.

_ Haru got the funny classmates. I got the crazy one and the jackass. No fair. _

"Jin-chan?" The brunette turned back around, Hunny now gazing up at her imploringly, "Why don't you go talk to Tama-chan and Kyo-chan? Maybe if you took more classes together, you and Kyo-chan will be nicer to each other. I'm sure Tama-chan would appreciate it."

It took quite a bit of willpower to not start laughing at the little joke, but the tall girl sighed and stood up anyways, "No promises, Hunny-kun… but no harm in trying either, at least."

And with that, she turned and started walking towards her two classmates. She did feel a little bad about lying to the small blond, though. In all honesty, she had no intention of asking either of her classmates to share electives with her. She was hardly able to deal with them as it was, so why torture herself?

She just wanted to see what Tamaki was moping about now. Neither boy noticed her approach, Tamaki too absorbed in whatever he was worrying over this time, and his friend watching in a mixture of amusement and boredom.

"Hey... Mom?"

"...Yes, Dad?"

"I'm just supposing here… but I'm beginning to believe that the twins, who are in Haruhi's class, know her in a way that I don't."

"Well, duh."

The blond seized up at Jin's response, letting out a noise like a balloon deflating. Kyoya glanced at her for a brief moment before turning back to his friend, "Ineloquently put, but she is correct, Tamaki. Here, these photos should enlighten the matter."

As Tamaki began crying over the photographs of Haruhi and the twins interacting in class, Kyoya wheeled out a white board and began drawing two pie charts to demonstration further. Jin watched in silence as the ravenet began to compare the amount of time her sister spent with Tamaki to the twins as the blond started weeping in earnest.

She was tempted to jump in and explain how the amount of time you spend with someone doesn't matter when it came to friendships, but she held her tongue. Perhaps if she didn't interact with them, she wouldn't have to take part of their crazy adventures? After all, she was still getting over the Renge craziness that went down a few weeks ago, and trying to decode what the French girl had said before she ran off with her sister.

_...I just didn't understand how my actions were affecting you… I'm sorry... _

For the life of her, Jin couldn't understand what Renge had been talking about. Was it about putting Haruhi in danger? Not letting her interact with the hosts?

"Infidel dogs! Line yer sorry keisters up!"

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Jin refocused on her crazy classmate. Apparently, he's a little into Japanese period dramas, if the strange headset and weapon and clothes were anything to go by. At least Haruhi didn't seem bothered by it, if not just a little weirded out. The girl's eyes met from across the lawn, both thinking the same thing.

_ How will we ever survive this school? _

"Miss Fujioka?"

"Yes, Satan?" The brunette stood still for another moment before turning around, a big smile on her face despite the affronted expression Kyoya was wearing, "Ah! I'm sorry, Ohtori! You sounded like someone else."

"...If you're quite finished acting childishly, there is something regarding your sister and her…  _ admittance _ to this club that you may wish to hear."

Jin's smile dimmed and she nodded, bringing her arms up to cross over her chest instead. Kyoya regarded her for another moment before opening his mouth to speak. Unfortunately, he was interrupted. Tamaki shoved his way in between the two, pushing a struggling Haruhi ahead of him.

"Associate with these fellows no longer! It is Father's wish that you be what you are from now on, a girl! No back talk! Just do it!"

"H-hey! Let me go!"

Before they got too far, Jin reach out on instinct and grabbed her sister by the front of her jacket, tugging her away from the club president with ease. And just in time, too, as the Hitachiins had begun to chase the blond around the yard, now dressed in their own period drama outfits. Jin casually placed herself in between the fighting boys and her sister.

Kyoya sighed, clearly not pleased by their actions but not particularly surprised either, "Tamaki, really, there is no need to rush the process. Not with-"

"Haru-chan!" From behind the Fujioka's, Hunny bounded over and tugged at the shorter girl's uniform, "When is your class getting their physical exams? Let's compare heights!"

"Uh… Hunny-senpai? Not to be rude, but it's obvious that you're-"

"Physical exams." Jin blinked hard, like she couldn't see clearly, "Oh, that's right. Those are coming up real soon… aren't they?" She tilted her head a bit, a hand coming up to scratch at the back of her head while the others stood in silence, "That... might be a bit of a problem..."

*The Next Day*

"So, have you figured out how you're gonna break it to them?"

The Fujioka's were walking up to Music Room #3, gladly taking their time getting there, of course. They both knew what was going to happen when they reached the host club. The sisters had been going over the physical exam issue since they left hosting activities yesterday afternoon. As far as they could tell, Haruhi's unexpected 'gender reveal' was inevitable.

All they could do now was inform the boys and hope for the best response.

"Um…" Haruhi bit at her bottom lip, eyes now tracing the panels on the ceiling, "Well, about that…"

Jin stared at her sister, "You're joking, right?"

"I figured I'd just… tell them?" At the incredulous look her sister was giving her, Haruhi raised her hands in surrender, "I can't think of any other way to do it! It's a calculated risk, I know-"

"Wow, and here I thought you were good at math…"

"- _ but _ there isn't any way to lessen the blow. You know how dramatic Tamaki-senpai is!"

"Haru, you're going to get us into big trouble one day."

"I thought I already did that? We're in the Host Club, aren't we?"

The tall brunette gently cuffs her sister's shoulder, and yet she's smiling as they open the door, "Sorry we're late, every-" Jin paused in her greeting, the two girls finding themselves walking in on a mission debriefing. As one, the rest of the club turned to the Fujioka's, most of the boys looking determined and pleased with themselves. Instantly, Jin was on guard.

Especially since Tamaki appeared to be in command.

"Ah! Haruhi! Jin! Great timing, we just finalized our plans for Operation: Haruhi is a Boy!"

"Oh,  _ really…? _ " Haruhi once again ignored her sister's heavy gaze, this time admiring the pretty floor patterns of the music room. How come she'd never noticed it before?

"Of course! We can't let them take away our secret… and not so secret princesses!"

"Senpai, there is no way that's going to happen!"

As predicted, the blond let out a long, scandalized gasp as he backpedaled from the girls. Jin rubbed at her eyes as her sister continued explaining how she didn't care whether she was kicked out of the club or not, and how she was prepared to join Jin in being a waitress or finding another way to pay back the debt.

_ What she doesn't realize _ , Jin thought to herself as she watched the hosts conferring amongst themselves,  _ is that Tamaki doesn't want the other boys at this school to start flirting with the cute girl he has a crush on. Honestly, she's always been blind to when someone has an interest in her… _

"How are we supposed to be heroes if the heroine won't cooperate! Is there nothing that will motivate you?"

_ Maybe offer to cut our debt in half? _

"Giant tuna."

_...I guess that works. _

Jin watched in faint amusement as the other hosts caught on, laying the bribery on thick. Food was always a good motivator. It was right up there with spite and vengeance, in her opinion. And while she had plenty doubt in that whatever plan the boys had come up with would work in the slightest, Jin almost had to admit any sort of plan might be worth a shot...

Despite how both girls were working to pay off the debt, Haruhi, being a host, was paying off almost double the amount Jin was just being a waitress. It made sense, she supposed, considering Haruhi was the one bringing in actual business. But if she was suddenly demoted to waitress and the club  _ lost _ customers, there was no telling exactly how long the two girls would have to work to pay off the remaining 5 and a half million yen they owed.

So if the boys wanted to try to keep Haruhi in her host position… perhaps Jin could give them the benefit of the doubt. Just this once.

"Nēchan?"

The brunette shrugged, slipping her hands into her pockets, "I dunno, Haru. They  _ really _ seem like they want to keep you in the club."

Haruhi's mouth actually fell open in shock, and she looked ready to retaliate when they locked eyes.

_ We'll pay off the debt faster if you remain as a host. I don't like it either, but it's our best option. Sorry. _

Jin watched as the same puzzle pieces suddenly clicked into place behind Haruhi's eyes, which widened for a moment before narrowing. She pouted before turning back to the others, "Fine! Just do what you want."

"Awww! Haruhi's so cute when she's mad!"

Jin couldn't help but smile a little.  _ At least they're not complete idiots… _

"Miss Fujioka? Could I have a word with you?"

Trying her best not to roll her eyes, the brunette turned around, "Sure. What is it now, Ohtori?"

* * *

' _ Attention, students. Physical exams for first year students will now commence. All first years please report to your designated nurse's office. Thank you for your cooperation. _ '

Heaving a long sigh, Haruhi hoisted herself out of her chair and followed her classmates out the door. Immediately the twins were at her sides, so she decided to ask a few questions while she still could. It didn't help her nerves in the slightest that the hosts had yet to reveal their plan for keeping her "true gender" a secret.

"Alright, how exactly does this school conduct physical exams? Any gold-plated scales or show choirs I should be preparing myself for?"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at the question, "Well, as I understand it, they're done here just like everywhere else? I mean, consideration for student's health should be universal, shouldn't it?"

"uh... Yeah… let's hope." Haruhi's mouth was set in a straight line as one of the student's in front of her grabbed the door handle. Despite the reassurance, she couldn't quite shake off the sense of impending doom.

_ Cha-chnk! _

"Welcome~!"

Haruhi's jaw dropped.

Standing before them all were two seemingly endless rows of doctors and nurses, every single one of them smiling grandly at the Class A students. Before she could come up with a witty remark, an escape plan, or perhaps just a loud, drawn out scream of panic, Haruhi's arms were secretly grabbed by the Hitachiin's and she was steered into the room.

They released her as two nurses came up to them with measuring tape, starting their exams with height measurements. Haruhi wasn't sure if the scene in front of her was real or not, especially when the boys came out at the exact same height and the girls started to swarm. There was even a nurse suggesting they call in the "achievement" to Guinness, like it was a world record of some sort.

_ Maybe I should just… go… _

The brunette spun on her heel, ready to sneak back out the front door when someone whispered her name.

" _ Haru-chan! Over here! _ "

Startled, she glanced to her right and gasped aloud. Standing a few feet away in full doctor garb, complete with fake glasses and notepads, were Mori and Hunny. And it was clear that the brunette was not the only one who could immediately tell who they were.

" _ I-Is this the plan? _ "

"Not at all. They're here to keep an eye on things, as it were."

"Meaning they just wanted to be here." Jin smirked and leaned against the windows behind Kyoya, "Those two like to be kept in the loop."

Haruhi's mouth flapped open and shut a few times before she could remember how to pronounce words, "Nēchan? Kyoya-senpai? What are you doing here? I thought second and third years were supposed to still be in class-"

"They are. I'm a member of the nursing committee, so I'm allowed to be here. Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai probably snuck out of class, and to save your sister from resorting to that same option, I managed to smuggle her out of class with me."

The taller brunette rolled her eyes, but Haruhi noticed her sister smiling just a little, "Well… that was kind of you, Kyoya-senpai. But what about Tama-"

"Why, Miss Shiramine, you've dropped 4 pounds this past year!" Haruhi's eyebrows drew together in confusion as she turned to watch a girl be weighted. She was surrounded by a small collection of nurses, who applauded everything the doctor said. The longer Haruhi watched the transaction between the student at the doctor, the exchange between them only grew to sound more sugarcoated.

"Um… call me skeptical, but… do the doctors here have any sort of incentive to skew the results?"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, "You and your sister catch on quickly. As I was just explaining a moment ago, this approach was advised by the Headmaster some time ago. Since the families of these students all have their own family doctors, a school-wide physical exam is simply a formality. And since the students are given correct measurements and healthcare at home, it gives these doctors more room to focus on boosting student moral and keep the parents of said students happy."

"Still…" Jin pushed herself away from the window, eyeing a doctor who was insisting that a student definitely didn't need glasses, "if some of the students take  _ these _ doctor's words to heart, there might be a few health issues. After all, if these doctors and nurses are focused on making the students happy above anything else, that might make their inputs more likely to be followed…"

"Not necessarily, Miss Fujioka-  _ oof. _ "

"Oh, pardon me."

Both of the second years stopped and stared at the frazzled doctor in surprise. The man was still staring at Kyoya, a hand coming up to rub the shoulder he'd bumped the ravenet with.

"Uh… sure…"

The two watched as he wandered away, bumping into another student as he looked around. Jin tilted her head, "Is he… trying to find his next patient?"

Kyoya's hand came up to his chin, thumb lightly rubbing his jawline, "I… he's not…"

"Fujioka and the Hitachiins… it's time for your exams!"

Jin finally tore her gaze away from the stranger, watching as her sister was lead towards a group of curtains, "Looks like we've started. Are you sure this has to be a part of the plan?"

"Just… enjoy the show for now, Miss Fujioka. I assure you it is all under control."

"Somehow I doubt that..."

* * *

"You may undress behind those curtains in the back."

Haruhi's heart climbed into her throat as she followed her classmates closer to the nurse that had spoken. She glanced from side to side, wondering if someone was going to pull her into a secret hiding place or something, but all she could see were… a bunch of girls?

It looked like every female in her class had gathered around, whispering to each other… some even drooling a little.

_ What in the- _

"Curtains~?"

"We don't need curtains~!"

" _ EEEEEEEEE! _ "

Haruhi backpedaled a little, momentarily blindsided by the twins abruptly taking their shirts off. The girls she had noticed earlier let out a unanimous scream and rushed closer. As Haruhi continued to stare in shock, to sets of hands suddenly shoved her to the side, forcing her to either move or fall over.

" _ Now's our chance, Haru-chan! Quick! _ "

"Hey-wai- _ ah! _ "

The heel of her shoe caught on the edge of a curtain and the brunette fell backwards. Were it not for the arms that came around her torso and pulled her close, she would've fallen flat on her back.

" _ I've been lying in wait for you, Princess… _ "

_ Tamaki? _

It took her a moment, but eventually Haruhi wriggled herself out of the boy's grasp and fell to the floor, too shocked by the blond's sudden appearance to stand.

"How… are you  _ here? _ "

"Ooh… you're surprised! How cute! You just wait here, okay?"

"Wha-"

"Shh…" Haruhi went a little cross-eyed, trying to see the finger he had placed on her lips to shush her, "Don't worry, little Haruhi. I'll protect you."

"Uh…"

She couldn't think of a response. At all. To be honest, the whole day was turning out to be a continuous stretch of confusion for the brunette, and she was becoming quite sick of it. However, one thing was for certain.  _ This _ was the plan.

So, as Tamaki grabbed the curtains behind her, Haruhi glanced over her shoulder and watched, curious as to what he would say to the nurse to get her to call off the exam.

"Are you ready, Mister Fujioka?"

"I'm ready."

Haruhi's jaw dropped once again as Tamaki pulled on a brown wig and flung the curtains open, his shirt already unbuttoned.

"Mister… Fujioka. How quickly you've grown…"

"EEEEEEE!"

"It's Tamaki! But why?!"

"Oh, Tamaki-senpai! Are you taking the part of Haruhi? Why?"

"Yeah! Why?"

And the Idiot  _ actually _ had the  _ nerve _ to look surprised. Actually, the proper term might be 'mortified'. Haruhi pressed her face into her hands and fell to the side, second-hand embarrassment overcoming her.

"Hahahahahaha! Milord actually fell for it!"

_ Oh… so it was the twins who put him up to it. _ The short brunette curled further in on herself.  _ BUT WHAT KIND OF MORON WOULD FALL FOR IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?! _

"Haru? You holding up back here?" Jin slipped into the changing area, unnoticed thanks to all the chaos, and looked down at the girl curled up in a little ball on the floor. Haruhi managed a small noise, to which Jin nodded before beckoning the others in.

She raised an eye as the boys (excluding Tamaki for the moment) joined her. None of them look particularly troubled by the latest turn of events.

"So… now that  _ that's _ out of the way, should we start with your  _ actual _ plan?"

Kyoya smirked, "Of course. Haruhi, there's a doctor in a special clinic down the hallway who will hold your gender in the strictest confidence."

"All of the doctors here are under strict orders to follow Kyoya's instructions, as they're under his family's employment from their many hospitals."

Jin crossed her arms, "Might've been nice if you'd mentioned that earlier… but if you hid it to get back at Tamaki for, what I'm assuming was a tasteless comment, then I suppose I can't be  _ too _ upset." She turned around and hauled Haruhi off the floor, pretending to brush invisible dirt out of her short hair, "You heard the scary ravenet, Haru. Down the hall. "Special clinic" and all that."

Haruhi sighed, but allowed her sister to guide her to the doors leading out of the nurse's station, the older of the two waving off all nurses who attempted to ask where they were going. The short brunette wasn't entirely interested in  _ how _ the plan was being pulled off any longer. She just wanted the exam to be over.

However, right as she was about to leave, Haruhi turned back to her sister and raised an eyebrow.

_ How  _ did  _ Kyoya-senpai get you out of class? _

Jin got a weird look on her face, something between a smile and a grimace before her features smoothed out,  _ I'll tell you about it later. _

It wasn't the answer that Haruhi wanted, but she rolled her eyes and closed the door anyways. If Jin said she'd tell her later, she would.

* _ Flashback _ *

"And if you would turn to page… ah, Mister Ohtori, is it time for you to leave already?"

Kyoya nodded as he pushed his chair in, straightening out his jacket's lapels, "I'm afraid so Sokai-sensei. The first year's physical exams will begin in only a matter of minutes."

His grey eyes shifted suddenly to Jin, who was watching from the corner of her eye. Attempting to stifle a sigh, the ravenet turned back to their teacher, "And I will need to take Miss Fujioka with me."

The entire class let out a little gasp, even Tamaki turning around to stare. Sokai-sensei's eyes narrowed just a tad, looking between his two brightest pupils for a few seconds before sighing a waving a hand through the air before him, "If you must. I'll expect you both to read through pages 121 and 125 as well as answering the questions from chapter 13, which will be due tomorrow."

Jin nodded and thanked her teacher as she quickly followed her classmate out the door. Only when they were out of earshot did she ask, "So… this is the plan still, right?"

"Indeed."

Jin's eyes narrowed as the two turned the corner, "Then… why did Tamaki look so surprised? Did you seriously not tell him?"

"Of course not," Kyoya smirked, but didn't slow down, "Tamaki has a different role to play, and in order for the actual plan to work he cannot know of it." Before Jin could ask what he meant by that, the two came to a stop outside of the Dean's office. Kyoya knocked politely on the door, and was almost instantly greeted by a 'Come in.'

The brunette followed her classmate into the office, nervousness slowly stirring around in the pit of her stomach. This was as much of the plan as Kyoya had filled her in on so far. She had no idea  _ why _ Kyoya needed her to accompany him to the Dean's office, nor what he would ask for while they were here, and the further she attempted to pry the less he revealed. It was maddening, and occasionally infuriating. Even so, Jin managed a smile and bowed towards the Dean in greeting all the same.

"Ah, Mister Ohtori... and Miss Fujioka? What a surprise." The Dean straightened up in his chair, the paper he had been reading temporarily forgotten, "Might I inquire as to what prompted this visit?"

Kyoya smiled at the man, "Of course, Sir. I apologize for not alerting you to this meeting in advance, but it would appear that a private clinic will be needed to be set up before the start of the first year's physical exams. It would be for Miss Fujioka's younger brother, and we'd very much like your permission in order to hurry the process along."

"Oh?" The Dean's eyebrows drifted upwards, the man clearly intrigued, "And why is a private clinic needed?"

The moment Kyoya gestured for Jin to come forward, she immediately knew what he was attempting to accomplish and why he brought her along. As Haruhi's sibling… only she could validate any reason for this abrupt change in plans. As for not telling her about it prior... she wouldn't sound like she'd rehearsed anything. But he trusted her intelligence enough to come up with an excuse on the fly that sounded legitimate.

_ Oh… he's good. _

Jin quickly bowed her head again, "I apologize as well, for the abruptness of the request, but… my brother identifies as Non-binary. This means that Haru does not feel quite like a boy, nor like a girl. He tends to favor male pronouns, which is probably why no one has noticed, but… he does suffer from some body dysphoria. He is uncomfortable showing his body in any setting, and I'd like to request that he be allowed to conduct his physical exam in a more private setting… Please, Sir."

A few moments later and the two students were walking back the way they came, a permission slip in Kyoya's hand that would allow for an empty classroom to be quickly re-purposed into a special clinic for Haruhi. Jin's heart was still racing in her chest. That had been more stressful than it probably should've been.

"So…that's the plan? The  _ full _ plan?"

"Yes."

"… Smart."

Kyoya glanced over at his classmate, a little surprised by the compliment but not ready to point it out either. Still… he had his own question.

"Thank you. Now, I must ask, was any of your explanation for the Dean true?"

"The Non-binary thing? Yeah." Jin stuffed her hands into her pant's pockets, still not meeting Kyoya's eyes, "Haru does identify as Non-binary, and she has for a while. Mostly she doesn't mind what pronouns people use. It's not important to her on most days, and on the days that it does she'll let Dad and I know what she identifies as and we'll go from there. And she does have some minor body dysphoria… again, depending on the day. So, even though the use of a private clinic was for an entirely different reason…" she glanced up at Kyoya with a minuscule smile, "... thank-"

' _ Attention, students. Physical exams for first year students will now commence. All first years please report to your designated nurse's office. Thank you for your cooperation. _ '

Jin nibbled at her bottom lip as she stared at the intercom above their heads, "Oh boy… how long until the room will be ready?"

"Ten minutes, most likely. Though we should still hurry." As the two began jogging down the hallways amid the sounds of classroom doors opening all around them, Kyoya spoke again, "And it is quite interesting… the fact that Haruhi is Non-binary, I mean. I merely assumed that her willingness to be mistaken as a boy was because your family consisted of cross-dressers."

Jin groaned in annoyance and even managed to glare at the boy by her side as they hurried towards the east wing, "You know, I've met some pricks in my life, Mister Ohtori. But you are the fucking cactus."

* _ End Flashback _ *

"AaaaaAAAAAAAH!"

The Host Club jumped as a high pitched scream sharply echoed through the nurse's station. Standing near the open windows, a blonde girl was still shrieking her head off, quickly latching onto her friends as they gathered around. A few doctors and nurses were moving in too, trying to calm the girl down.

"Miss? What happened?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Th-that… that doctor! He… he grabbed my arm and… when I screamed he jumped out that window!"

Jin glanced at the boys, her eyebrow arched, "Call me crazy… but that doesn't sound like something a doctor would do. That's more like a…"

"Sexual predator," Mori finished.

Kyoya blinked, a hand coming up to rub at his chin, "That explains the scruffy man who bumped into me earlier…"

"Wait," Jin held up her hands in a 'time out' gesture, "Are you saying that you  _ knew _ that man wasn't a doctor but you still said  _ nothing about him? _ "

"Well, he was not the Ohtori Family's responsibility and therefore no concern of mine."

Jin was still staring at the boy, dumbfounded, so the twins slid up to her side, "Don't worry, Jin-senpai."

"Unless he's sharper than he looks, he'll be caught pretty quickly."

The brunette scowled and turned back to the group around the window. There was now a doctor who was leaning his head out of the window, probably looking for the predator.

"Miss? Did you see which way he went?"

"T...to the right."

"I don't see him. He probably climbed back into the school through another window."

Jin's blood went cold.

" _ Haruhi! _ "

* * *

The seven burst out of the nurse's office and bolted down the hallway, Jin in the lead. The special clinic was only three doors down, but to the brunette it felt like ages. She flung the door open and Hunny ran inside, launching into a jumping kick as he entered the changing area.

"USA-CHAN  _ KIIIIICK! _ "

The rest of the club rushed after their smallest member, ignoring the confused shouts of the female doctor and quickly flooding the changing area. Jin was immediately at her sister's side, shucking off her school jacket and covering Haruhi's singlet with the clothing before pulling her to the side.

"One… beauty that captures everyone's gaze."

"Two… more wealth than you could possibly imagine."

"Three… gentlemen that have ways to thwart evil commoners."

"The great sun may take no exception… but this just-bloomed cherry blossom  _ will! _ "

"All in the Ouran Host Club absolutely will!"

"AAAAAAHHHH PLEASE! I MEAN NO HARM!"

Jin blinked, still holding Haruhi close to her chest. The 'doctor' was now practically sprawled on the floor, shaking with sobs of fear and his hair even more of a mess from being kicked into the wall. For a while, no one said anything.

"You…  _ don't? _ "

"Then what's with all the sneaking around?"

"And the doctor's coat?"

"Awah? I… I forgot to change out of this!"

The hosts listened as the man began explaining his story. His wife and daughter left him... He traveled on the road to find his daughter's school… Crushed in body and spirit… Jin's eyebrows slowly inched higher and higher on her forehead the longer he went on. She couldn't help but think that perhaps  _ some _ of his tale of woe was a little exaggerated. Besides, it really shouldn't take someone a month to walk to a school. Why not ask for directions? Or take the train?

Kyoya appeared to be thinking along those same lines, because once the man's tale was finished he gently pushed a crying Tamaki to the side and knelt before the rumpled man, "Sir, please don't take offense, but are you perhaps looking for the public school in the next city?"

The man's sobs cut off immediately, " _ Public… _ this isn't… Ourin High School?" Eight head shakes were his response. "Oh  _ god… _ "

As he once again collapsed to the floor, Kaoru tapped his senpai's shoulder, "Kyoya-senpai? How'd you know?"

"The daughter of a common Medico like  _ that _ at Ouran Academy? C'mon…"

"Y'know, there were perhaps another twenty different tones you could've used, Ohtori." Kyoya turned to respond, but Jin was already slipping out of the changing area to explain to the  _ real _ doctor what was going on. She was still missing her school jacket, which Haruhi was holding tight around her shoulders like a security blanket. The doctor she was speaking to looked more than a little miffed by the strange happenings that were interrupting her job, but the longer she spoke to the brunette the calmer she appeared.

Back in the changing area, Tamaki continued to stare at the strange, weeping man for another few seconds before straightening himself up, "Hikaru? Kaoru? Could you please draw this man a map leading to Ourin High School?"

"Ehh? But why?"

"His daughter probably doesn't want to see him anyways!"

"After all, he can't even remember what school she goes to!"

The blond hummed thoughtfully, placing his hands on his hips as he stared down at the man, "Well, I suppose he'll just have to figure that out for himself, won't he?"

"That is very touching, young man," A majority of the Host Club jumped in surprise at the newest voice, spinning around to see Haruhi's doctor watching from the opening of the yellow curtains, Jin at her side, "But I must insist that you all leave so Mister… or Miss Fujioka can finish their exams."

Haruhi smiled softly herself, "That's probably a good idea. Unless, of course, you want me to finish it with the rest of the students and get me kicked out of the host club?"

Tamaki and the twins yelped before high-tailing it out of the room, hauling the ragged doctor out with them and the other three boys on their heels. Once they were gone, Jin plucked her jacket from around her sister's shoulders and followed, flashing a thumb's up over her shoulder.

Haruhi couldn't resist.

"Good luck in  _ your _ exams, Nēchan! Try to keep at least a  _ little _ to the imagination! And no photographs of Tamaki-senpai or Kyoya-senpai shirtless, please!"

Her sister's thumb flipped downwards for a split second before Jin shut the door, rolling her eyes as she tugged her uniform back on. Most of the others were already gone, either to find a map for the lost doctor or return to class, but to her surprise Tamaki and Kyoya were still waiting for her.

Pretending to ignore how... sweet the action seemed to her, Jin let out a deep sigh, "I suppose that solves  _ that _ mess. Are we all set, then? Can we go back to class?"

Tamaki shrugged, his usual smile back in place, "We could, but it would almost be pointless."

"After all, the first years will be sent back to class in a few minutes, and by the time we get back to our classroom they'll make the announcement for us to come back and begin our exams." Kyoya stuck his hands into his pockets and glanced back towards the nurse's station doors, "Besides, it might be a good idea to alert the school of the story behind our newfound 'predator'."

"Alright, suppose that's fair."

As they began walking back, a question revisited Tamaki. He elbowed the ravenet on his left lightly, "Hey, wait a moment, Kyoya. Why didn't you get me an excuse to leave class earlier, too? I had to sneak out and I was almost caught!"

"Do you not remember how hard it was to pull Miss Fujioka out of class earlier at the last minute? If I had tried to take you as well, Sakio-sensei would've concluded that what we were doing was because of our club and kept all three of us in class. Not to mention how it would damage our reputation with him as the top three students in class."

"Hmm… I suppose so… but why didn't you take  _ me _ instead of  _ Jin _ ?"

"Feeling the love over here, Tamaki…"

Before the blond could apologize, Kyoya smirked and interrupted, "I left you to sneak out of class yourself because I knew that if you were caught, you could easily charm yourself out of the situation. Miss Fujioka does not possess that quality, I'm afraid."

"Hey! I'm plenty charming!"

Tamaki laughed, "I assure you, Jin, you are. But speaking of being the top students, what were your plans regarding extracurricular next semester?"

"Oh... I'm still not sure. There are a number of classes I was thinking about."

"But sign ups are due tomorrow! Why don't you just take a class with us?"

Jin raised an eyebrow, "I can hardly handle the two of you in my required classes, Tamaki... any more and we might kill each other off..."

"Besides, Tamaki, it's not likely that we have the same talents, or the same interests. The fact that you coerced me into taking another language class on top of my German lessons notwithstanding, Miss Fujioka probably wishes to expand her horizons in a different way-"

"Another language?" Jin couldn't hold back her curiosity, no matter how much her inner voice said she'd regret it, "What language would that be?"

Tamaki's expression brightened, "We weren't sure just yet! I feel that we should take a French class, so I can help Kyoya if he struggles-"

"-while  _ I  _ believe that we should choose a language that we do not know entirely."

Jin hummed softly, nibbling on her bottom lip as they neared the doors to the nurse's station. She reached out for the handle... but hesitated just before she pulled it open.  _ I'm insane... _

"Jin?"

" _ I'm so going to regret this... _ but I  _ was _ considering taking a JSL course next semester. Japanese Sign-Language. It's incredibly useful, and while I know American Sign-Language, there are a few things that are different between the two... And I  _ suppose _ if you two are looking for something new to try-"

"Let's take it together!" Jin was quickly crushed in a tight bear hug by none other than Tamaki, who was already babbling about how much fun the three of them would have taking an extracurricular together. Kyoya watched the interaction with a blank expression, save for the slight curl of his lips. Not bothering to decode that expression at the moment, the brunette simply sighed and allowed to be hugged.

What's the worse that could happen, right?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh geez, I don't even know what to expect. Don't murder me for the lateness of this, please?  
> Um… I hope you liked it. If you did, please favorite and follow and leave a review, because I very much adore reviews.  
> See you next chapter!


	7. Episode 5!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins fight!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHAHAHAHA! I'M BACK SUCKERS! Man, have I missed this! So, I'm currently stressed out of my mind trying to get back into the swing of school even with my store manager trying to pin every problem on me and the introvert in me basically dying from overexposure to society. But it's whatever, right? I have two pounds of gumballs and a fully functioning laptop, so let's get this done!
> 
> Disclaimer: I only own Jin, and she is perhaps my greatest achievement in life.

 

"To say 'hello', you hold your two pointer fingers out like so," Gima-sensei paused with her hands in position, watching as the rest of her class mimicked her to the best of their ability, "And now bring your two fingers closer together, as if they were performing a bow towards each other."

The teacher watched in amusement as her students began repeating the simple message over and over again, in order to remember it. Some scurried to write out the movement in their notes, while others began signing it to their friends. A blond boy nudged the brunette girl to his left before showing her the sign. She grinned and repeated it back to him. He then tried to do the same with the ravenet seated behind him, but was ignored.

Clapping her hands together for attention, Gima-sensei gave her class one final nod, "Class is almost over, and your homework for tonight is to come up with a sign name for yourself. These sign names will take place of your own name so you will not need to spell it out every time. You are encouraged to work in groups for this assignment, as once you've chosen it, you will not be able to change them for the rest of the semester." The adult then gathered up her papers and proceeded to walk out of the classroom, lesson completed for the day.

As one, the kids started chatting with each other, trying to find a partner or group to assist with the homework. And more than a couple eyes were glued to the three host club members sitting on the far right side of the room.

Tamaki turned around excitedly in his seat, looking between Kyoya and Jin in turn, "You guys will work with me on this, right?"

Jin nodded, but Kyoya merely raised an eyebrow without even looking up, "Why bother? It's obvious what your sign name will be."

Tamaki's eyes widened in delight, but before he could reply his friend had already made a quick formation with his hands. Frowning, not recognizing the word, the blond started flipping through his book, "I… don't see that one, what page was that on?"

"It wasn't in the book, but I did some research before classes started and came up with your sign name beforehand."

"Oooh… what did you say?"

"Idiot."

Jin snorted before she could stop herself. Covering her mouth, she attempted to stem off the giggles as her desk neighbor gasped. At least he didn't seem to notice how Jin was finding humor from the situation. Clearing her throat to disrupt the tail end of her laughter, Jin leaned over and tapped at the page Tamaki's book was opened to, "Hey, there's an idea for you, Tamaki."

The blond quickly turned back around in his seat to look at the page. Even Kyoya attempted to glance around his friend's body to catch a peek. The page she was pointing at was a picture of the world separated into countries. A few of the countries were labeled with the sign language for their name, including China, Russia, the United States of America, and-

"France!" Tamaki curled his right hand into an 'ok' position and made a scooping motion towards himself, beaming. "That's perfect! Now to find names for you two! Kyoya, you said you found… that word... online, right?"

Before Kyoya could answer, the blond was already pulling out his laptop and typing away. He rolled his eyes before continuing to pack away his books. They had free period next, and normally he, Jin, and Tamaki would be hurrying to Music Room 3 to open the host club until 5th period began. But since Mori-senpai had Kendo club meetings during Tuesday and Thursday's free period, Tamaki had decided it wasn't worth it to open up when they were missing a host. Which meant they could take their time today.

"Tamaki, I thought you were looking up sign names?"

Kyoya glanced over at the blond's desk once again as he stood up. The screen on Tamaki's laptop was most definitely not showing anything regarding sign language. He had the Host Club's website up instead, a picture of all eight members smiling out at them.

The blond let out a nervous chuckle, "Well… I  _ was _ , but then I remembered I gave Hikaru and Kaoru the job of maintaining the club's website and-"

"You're looking at pictures of Haru, aren't you?"

"There are new photos!" Without another word, Tamaki gleefully clicked on the button with the word 'New' underneath it. The three 2nd years stared at the following screen. Jin's mouth fell open. Kyoya's usual blank face rippled with interest and confusion.

Tamaki took the less subtle route and ran out of the classroom, leaving his laptop and books behind. His classmates sighed before scooping up the blond's things and following.

"So… is it always like this… being Tamaki's friend?" Jin huffed.

"If I said 'no', how long would it take for lightning to strike me where I stand?"

"With my luck? Not until you're 97."

They regressed back into silence all the way down to Music Room 3. Sure enough, by the time they arrived Tamaki was attempting to tackle the Hitachiin twins out of their chairs. Hunny, Mori, and Haruhi were watching the carnage in confusion.

Jin, holding Tamaki's laptop, approached them and opened the device while keeping an eye on the struggling boys across the room. The same page was still on the screen... showcasing a composite photo of a shirtless Haruhi.

"Ooo… you're one cool dude, Haru-chan!"

Haruhi didn't respond to Hunny's 'compliment', too busy staring at the photo in abject terror. Jin placed a consoling hand on her sister's shoulder. She knew her sister hated having her picture taken, so having someone alter a photo of her in such a way…

"Idiots! That's a scandalous abuse of technology! If you're going to photoshop Haruhi's face onto  _ anything _ , use a model like this!"

"Why bother?"

"We already did that with Jin-senpai."

"You did WHAT?" Jin nearly dropped the laptop in her haste to turn it around, frantically pecking at the keys until said photos popped up. Immediately her nose wrinkled. "Ugh… why'd you have to put me in a pink frou-frou dress?"

Despite the situation, Haruhi managed a slightly evil smile, leaning her head against Jin's arm, "Wow, lookin' good, Nēchan. But maybe it would look better in person?"

"Why you little-"

Before Jin could say anything regarding the thoughtful expressions on the twin's faces, Kyoya stepped into her line of sight, "Miss Fujioka, it might do you well to kindly begin your duties  _ before _ our guests arrive."

She blinked, having forgotten her other classmate was even there, but was quick to scowl once again. A number of backhanded comments came to mind, but Jin managed to reel herself in. Whether or not Kyoya was goading her on or not, it would probably be best if she did her job.

Snapping the laptop shut and handing it back over to Tamaki, the brunette began her opening rounds. A teapot here, some cake slices there… she quickly fell into routine, pushing her cart around the room.

"Ugh… it's so boring around here."

"Haruhi? Could we visit your house after club hours?"

Jin raised her head as her sister responded, "No way. You'd poke fun because it's not a  _ mansion _ like yours."

"Hm." Spotting Jin watching them, Hikaru called out to her, "Jin-senpai, can we spread rumors about you and some guy? Maybe a host-"

"No!"

Haruhi frowned and started walking away, "Geez, you two. Whaddaya think we  _ are? _ "

"Uh… duh? You're toys!"

Jin opened her mouth, shut it, then walked back into the kitchen, shaking her head as she went.  _ What the heck is WITH the boys at this school? _ She managed to give Haruhi a quick little pat on her head as she passed by, a sort of reminder that she wasn't going crazy.

The moment the kitchen doors fell shut behind the taller Fujioka, the front ones opened, " _ If you're looking for great toys… you should come to the Black Magic Club. _ " A cloak-covered head poked into the room, the person's black bangs obscuring the top half of his face and his cat-shaped hand puppet held in front of the bottom half.

" _ We currently feature an antique magical artifact market with a promotional voodoo doll giveaway now in progress! We've been waiting for new customers… _ "

Haruhi slowly inched away from the doors, finding herself next to Kyoya as she did so. Not  _ exactly _ the person she wanted at the moment, but still, "Um… who the heck is that?"

"That's Nekozawa-senpai. He's a third year and the president of the Black Magic Club. He also tends to avoid bright light, saying it saps his strength."

" _ Do not get involved with him, Haruhi… or you'll be cursed… I guarantee. _ "

Haruhi let out a rather high-pitched yelp at the sound of Tamaki's oddly soft-spoken voice behind her. She hadn't even heard him walking up to her, which was  _ really _ saying something. Usually all you had to do was listen for loud proclamations of love or screaming and you could easily pinpoint what building on campus the blond was in.

"Geez, you're so shrouded in darkness."

"Need some light? Here."

Nekozawa-senpai shrieked in obvious pain as Hikaru and Kaoru shined bright flashlights in his face. The boy fell backwards, tripping on his long black cloak as he frantically ran for his life.

Jin immediately poked her head out of the kitchen, "What happened? Was someone hurt?" Her eyes immediately zoned in on the twins who were smirking maliciously at the newly abandoned front doors. Tamaki was jumping around them, screaming at them for being idiots. Nothing unusual…

"Don't worry about it, Nēchan. The twins shined some bright lights in someone's face and he ran away."

"Well, that wasn't very nice."

"Miss Fujioka? We're opening in fifteen minutes…"

Haruhi watched with bated breath as her sister leveled a fiery glare at her black-haired classmate, only managing to breathe again when Jin's head disappeared back into the other room. As much as she would  _ love _ to see Jin chew Kyoya out for all the times he was a jerk to her, Haruhi knew their debt balance would probably double in size if she did.

Despite Kyoya's warning of how close opening time was, Tamaki was still screaming himself hoarse at Haruhi's classmates, "Don't  _ do _ things like that! You have no  _ idea _ of the horror you could've unleashed upon us!"

Hikaru scoffed, "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Yeah, Tamaki-senpai." Haruhi couldn't help but put in her own two cents, "You have a tendency to over-exaggerate. What proof do you have that-"

" _ OVER-EXAGGERATE? How  _ can you say I  _ over-exaggerate? _ " Haruhi only managed a blink. Tamaki made a soft whimper in the back of his throat before spinning around, allowing his face to become overrun with shadows, "Very well… if you require proof… it was last semester. I remember it like it was yesterday…  _ the day I stepped on Beelzenef! _ "

"The doll?"

" _ IT'S NOT JUST A DOLL TO NEKOZAWA-SENPAI! _ Ahem, as I was saying. After I stepped on that stupid little doll, I went to take my exam and it had been translated into rune-like writing! I couldn't read it! And when I looked around for help I didn't recognize anyone! I had been cast into a different dimension!"

Haruhi felt oddly faint. It didn't seem possible… but he said it with such  _ conviction _ , "But… then… h-how'd you get back…"

"You were so frazzled by the encounter you walked into the beginning Greek class and took their exam with them. By the time I found you and pulled you out you were on the verge of passing out."

"Ha! It was a curse!" Tamaki ran up to Kyoya, "Three days later and I woke up to my legs feeling like dead weights!"

"Because you ran a marathon the day before."

Haruhi rubbed at her eyes, willing away the headache developing in her right frontal lobe.  _ Why did I even consider believing him? I should've known better than to listen to Tamaki-senpai when he's like this. _

Two loud sighs broke the tension of the room, Hikaru and Kaoru unhappily flopping down into a couple of chairs, legs tossed over the armrests.

"Well, that was fun for a while."

"Still dull as toast around here, though."

Tamaki's lower eyelid twitched, "If it's so boring around here… I have something to occupy your time…"

*Time Skip*

Jin raised an eyebrow at the boys sulking on the floor, "Um… are you guys gonna do this all afternoon?"

Hikaru, who was lying flat on his back, glared up at her, "Take us to your place."

"No."

The redhead's scowl deepened and he turned his head away. Kaoru repeated the motion, resting his cheek against the broom in his hands. Jin, not caring to entertain the twins while they were acting so stuck-up, rolled her eyes and walked away. But not before leaving two cups of tea for them on a nearby table.

As she made her usual rounds between the different hosts (avoiding Kyoya as much as she could) Jin couldn't help but notice that the twins were the number one topic of the day.  _ Probably because Tamaki's not letting them host for two days as punishment and their guests are scattered around at the other host's tables. If only those two were  _ actually  _ helping me clean up the club room instead of moping around... _

She placed a new pot of tea on her sister's table, listening quietly as one of the guests asked, "Hey, Haruhi? Since you're in the same class as Hikaru and Kaoru, have you found other ways to tell them apart?"

"Yeah," another girl chimed in, "I know that Hikaru parts his hair on the right and Kaoru on the left, but if their hair gets messed up it gets kinda difficult."

"Well, yeah. I mean, sure, they're identical appearance wise, but they're still their own persons. Their personalities are different, at least." The girls around the table leaned in, their eyes wide with curiosity. Exchanging an amused look with Jin, who was smiling down at the table still, Haruhi shrugged, "I'd say the easiest way to tell them apart is that Hikaru's words and actions are a bit more evil in comparison to Kaoru. He takes more risks. But Nēchan pointed out to me a few days ago that Kaoru is a bit more pleasant when greeting people. Like during hosting hours, Kaoru will be the first to bring their clients back into conversation-"

A badly concealed snort cut the conversation short. Turning around in their chairs, the four girls watched as Kaoru succumbed to his giggles. Burying his face in his hands, the younger twin hunched over.

"S-sorry, Hikaru… hee hee… I don't mean 'ta *snicker*... but you gotta admit…"

"Hey, I just don't try to hide my intentions. The  _ real evil  _ lurks in sneaky people like you, Kaoru." Jin's eyes narrowed as the laughing stopped immediately.  _ What are they… _

"You should talk, Hikaru. You're full of selfish notions."

"It's  _ you _ who takes my notions and runs with 'em, Kaoru. If you don't like 'em,  _ leave _ 'em."

Now the whole room was watching as the twin's went back and forth. The boy's voices were low and dangerous, neither of them even facing the other. And the insults just kept coming, each one more sharp and pointed than the last. Hikaru's ears were growing red fast, and Kaoru's grip on his sleeves had started to tighten.

Jin's eyes narrowed a little more. She gently steered Haruhi and the guests further away from the arguing boys.

"If it weren't for me playing along you'd make an ass out of yourself in no time. I'm the only reason people at this school even  _ like  _ you."

"Is that so? Then explain why I'm always cutting the joke short before you take it too far? How many times have you almost been publicly humiliated? I'm surprised our family name still has value, thanks to your impulsiveness."

Any amusement the guests had found from the twins bickering had long since ended. The room was silent save for the tennis-match of insults. The hosts shared nervous looks with each other as they started ushering the guests out the door.

And thank goodness they did.

"Besides, though you called her a toy, you're actually quite fond of Haruhi, aren't you? You sure like to touch her-"

"Huh?!" Hikaru jolted, his entire face now lobster red. For a moment, all he did was gape at his brother in apparent horror, "Fff… fon- wha're you… Don't say such imbecilic things, Kaoru! I'm not attracted to that little raccoon!"

"Oy!"

He ignored Jin's outburst, "I bet you just said that because  _ you're _ into her! Or did you think I wouldn't notice you  _ constantly _ including her in your little schemes?"

" _ Schemes?! _ "

Standing at what she hoped was a safe enough distance away, Haruhi finally turned to her sister, "Hey, Nēchan? What's going on?"

"I'm… not sure." Jin's arms were crossed over her chest as she watched the fight, her right pointer finger tapping like mad against her left arm, one of the many stimming actions she had. But Haruhi noticed it for the tell it was.

_ So… there's something more to this fight. But Nēchan can't make it out. Hmm... _

"Oh, how splendid!" Renge, who had been perfectly quiet up to that point, suddenly spun out from one of the back rooms, "Haruhi's got himself caught in a love square! And two of them are  _ twins _ to boot! And now they're  _ fighting! _ " The girl practically swooned into a nearby chair.

"Button it, Otaku!"

The girl stuck her tongue out at the twins, "Oh please, like I'm going to miss out on  _ this! _ I mean, an all male love square with sibling rivalry throwing in is  _ amazing _ , of course, but with Haruhi struggling to stay close to Jin-senpai on top of it… how could I possibly stay away?"

Jin opened her mouth, reconsidered, and shut it again.  _ Perhaps it was a mistake to let her stay. But I wonder if she's a little hard of hearing since she obviously didn't catch on the 'she/her' pronouns. _

"Oh foo! You're pathetic in math, you are!"

"Oh yeah? How about  _ you _ and  _ French? _ "

"Shrimp!"

"Pig!"

"You're so annoying! Always slipping into my bed! Pervert!"

"Well, you're too insecure to sleep by yourself! You think I  _ want _ to share a bed with you?"

Then, as one, they marched to the front doors and flung them open, each twin storming off in different directions, "WE'RE FINISHED!"

The seven remaining members of the host club couldn't do anything but stare as the doors fell shut again.

"Huh."

At once, Tamaki began pacing the room, "What do you mean 'huh'? Why didn't anyone say anything! We should've tried to head them off! How are they supposed to host if they don't speak to each other?!"

"Oh, calm down, Tamaki." Jin scooped up her school bag, "I'm sure they'll cool down by tomorrow. It's probably from their boredom. And if not, then we can step in before things get  _ too _ crazy."

"But-"

"Relax, already. Come on… yeah, big fights like that aren't exactly healthy, but trying to interfere might not be the best move. I remember how annoyed Haru and I used to get when our Dad tried to force us to make up after our arguments."

Haruhi nodded in agreement and was about to walk out of the room when a pair of arms around her waist stopped her. Hunny stared up at the sisters with wide eyes, "Haru-chan… you and Jin-chan have fights?"

"Um… 'fight' is a strong word. More like 'disagreements'. And yeah. But disagreements are healthy." She grimaces, thinking back over the last five minutes.  _ Fights are not. _

* * *

By the next morning, Haruhi was as tensed up as an overstretched rubber band. Not even riding to school on the back of Jin's bicycle this morning had been enough to relax her. Ever since they left the school yesterday afternoon she had been worried about the twins. Well, not exactly worried  _ about _ them, but about what they might  _ do _ to each other in class.

She sat between them.

Jin, of course, noticed immediately. She might've smiled if she wasn't also worried. So instead of leaving the 1-A classroom as soon as Haruhi went inside, the two simply hovered by the doorway. They exchanged good mornings with the students who passed them and Haruhi introduced her big sister to any of her interested classmates. Even Hunny and Mori dropped by.

And then the whispers started up.

" _ Did you see Hikaru this morning? Where is Kaoru? _ "

" _ I saw him arrive in a separate limo, but forget that, did you see their  _ hair?"

" _ Are they fighting about something? _ "

Jin pushed herself away from the wall she was leaning against, "Here we go… Mori-kun, do you see either of them?"

Her friend was scanning the tops of the crowd, his face just as passive as ever, even when he suddenly nodded towards the end of the hallway and stated, "Pink."

And pink he was. Hikaru's flamingo pink head was bobbing its way up the hallway, most students making way for the boy so they could stare at him instead. Hunny's mouth had fallen into a perfect 'o' shape, but the other three did their best to keep a blank face. If he was still mad…

"Oh, good morning, everyone." He raised an eyebrow, "Is there a reason you're all gathered here?"

Jin gathered her thoughts first, "I was just talking to Haruhi for a moment and Mori-kun and Hunny-kun stopped by. I like your hair."

"Look, I know pink is rather out there-"

"I wasn't kidding." And she wasn't. Jin was actually eyeing the colorful strands with interest and… a little jealousy, "I've always wanted to dye my hair, but never had the time or commitment or money."

Hikaru blinked a little, and unless she was seeing things his ears had turned a little red from the praise, "Oh… thank you."

"You look like Bun-Bun, Hika-chan! That's so cool!"

"T-thanks... but, um, I think class is going to start in a little bit. Come on, Haruhi."

"See you for lunch, Nēchan!" Jin went to wave back to her sister, but froze suddenly.  _ Lunch… aw crap! _ She almost smacked herself in the face.  _ I forgot to pack myself a lunch!  _ Deciding to leave that problem alone for now, she went to walk to her own classroom-

"Hey, guys!"

A shock of turquoise was the first thing they registered, and Jin's jealousy deepened, "Hi, Kaoru. Love the color."

"Thanks!" The younger twins beamed, certainly looking to be in high spirits, "It was between this and slightly more purple shade, but I like the brightness!"

"It's really cool, Kao-chan!"

He beamed at Hunny, and looked like he was about to say something else when a voice echoed from inside the room, "No longer shall I be mistaken for Kaoru!" Immediately his expression soured and he stalked into the classroom.

Jin nibbled at her bottom lip before she started pulling her friends away. She had a feeling things between the twins were going to get worse before they got better. But… there was still something that was  _ bugging _ her about this fight.

*Lunch*

Jin poked her head into the cafeteria nervously, her finger tapping away at the seam of her pant leg. It didn't look…  _ too  _ different from the usual lunch rooms in the other schools she had been in before, save for the fancy food on everyone's plates. Even still, it wasn't until she saw Haruhi practically slumped against the wall in exhaustion that she ventured inside.

"Hey, Haru. How're you holding up?"

A non-committal groan answered her just as a gathering of students started applauding. The sisters glanced over. It would appear that the Hitachiin's had just ordered the same thing for lunch, and were now glaring heatedly at each other. They changed their order perhaps twice after that, both of them changing it to the same thing at the same time before they began snarling at each other. Jin felt bad for the chef's waiting for the twin's to order, and for all the students waiting in line behind them.

"Okay! This fight has gone on for long enough!" Jin blinked in surprise as Hunny rushed past her, carrying a piece of cake he had probably nicked from the host club's storage.  _ We should probably invest in a couple locks for the cabinets… _

As the short blond tried to settle the argument with the cake, the murmurs of the cafeteria took a sudden upswing.

" _ It's the Host Club! _ "

" _ Eeee! The Host Club in person! _ "

" _ All of them at once! Oh my! _ "

Sure enough, Mori, Kyoya, and Tamaki were walking up to the lunch line, pausing beside the girls. Tamaki shook his head at the twins, who had started arguing again, scaring Hunny back into his cousin's arms, "I thought I heard a commotion in here. They're still at it… that's not good for our image."

"Our  _ image? _ "

"Oh! Haruhi!" Jin took a step back as Tamaki bounded over to her sister, "I've never seen you in the cafeteria before!"

As Haruhi began to explain that she and Jin were trying to keep an eye on the twins, her sister was eyeing the lunch line again. The twins had finally moved along, though neither of them looked pleased with what they had gotten, and the rest of the students were finally able to place their orders.

A sudden whiff of the cappellini and barbary duck lunch tickled the 2nd year's nose. She couldn't help the soft groan of her stomach. This wasn't the first time she had forgotten to pack a lunch, and it probably wouldn't be the last, and even though the stomach cramps were a little painful, it was nothing Jin couldn't handle.

Even  _ if _ everything around her smelled delicious. It reminded her of her afternoons spent as a waitress in America. And since the restaurant's owner and head chef was the father of her host family, she even got to eat the yummy smelling foods.

Which, she supposed, was where the similarities ended. The lunches here were too expensive for her to order with a clear conscious.

"Nēchan, let's go sit over there. I think I see an empty table."

"Wait." The girls stopped. Jin arched an eyebrow as Kyoya fixed her with a sharp stare, "Miss Fujioka, might I inquire as to where  _ your _ boxed lunch is? Surely you have one as well?"

"Already ate it. It wasn't much-"

"You mean nothing at all." Jin leveled a warning glance at her sister, but Haruhi ignored it, "She forgot to pack a lunch today, Kyoya-senpai. Would it be alright if she has a slice of cake or something similar during hosting hours today?"

Jin did her best keeping her sigh internal. She already knew what the answer was going to be. A big, fat, no-

"I'll buy you a lunch."

Everyone let out a gasp. Even  _ Kyoya _ looked a little surprised by his own words for a second before he collected himself.

"... _ why? _ "

The question was out of Jin's mouth before she could stop it. Immediately afterwards, she wanted to kick herself.  _ What are you doing? Free food is free food! Then again… Kyoya does seem to be the type of person to quote 'there's no such thing as a free lunch'. _

But the boy surprised her once again.

"Consider it repayment for the many customers you've brought to the host club since your arrival. They seem quite taken with your attachment to Haruhi. Besides, it's easier to buy you food out of pocket than calculating out whatever you may take from the club's storage."

That was a BS call if Jin ever knew one. That was basic accounting, and no different from the many cakes Hunny munched on before and after hosting hours. And she would've called him out on it had something not occurred to her in that exact moment.

Kyoya was… being nice. Well, in his own cold, aloof, Kyoya-ish way, of course. Pretending it was all in the name of business, when he just wanted to buy her a lunch so she wouldn't go hungry all day.

_ What… the hell? _

On the outside, however, Jin merely nodded and followed the ravenet to the lunch line without a fuss, leaving Haruhi to go find them a place to sit.

"The B lunch. And I'll be paying for Miss Fujioka's food as well." He shifted to the side so the girl could move forward.

"Hmmm…" she scanned the menu for a moment before glancing to the side, "Money's no object?" With a head shake as her response, she flashed the cashier a quick smile, "Could I get the C lunch with a side order of pasta… and a slice of bread, please?"

The man behind the counter blinked at the 'please', not used to polite requests, before giving her a small smile in return and ringing the order up. Even so, Jin felt Kyoya's eyes boring into the side of her head as they moved along down the counter to where their ticket and meals would be delivered.

After a moment she returned the stare, "Something bothering you?"

"That's… quite a few carbs you just ordered."

"Bless my metabolism." On impulse, she flashed him a lopsided smile before accepting her lunch with a quick 'thank you'. She turned and was about to walk towards Haruhi when she stopped. Haruhi wasn't sitting alone. The twins were on either side of her.

"Jin-chan?" Hunny was watching her from over his shoulder, grabbing his own tray off food from the cafeteria worker, "Are we gonna sit with Haru-chan, Hika-chan, and Kao-chan?"

"Unless you want to sit in the middle of a war zone, Hunny-kun… we might want to find a different spot." And true to her word, no sooner had she and the four boys set their trays down that the twins were glaring at each other, each with a hand tightly gripping one side of Haruhi's boxed lunch.

Spotting her sister frantically waving her over, Haruhi managed to sneak away from the table just as the twins began throwing food and silverware at each other. Sighing, the short brunette sank down into the chair on her sister's right hand side, "Thanks, Nēchan. Hey, can I have some of your lunch? I had to abandon mine at the table- Senpai!"

Before they could stop him, Tamaki was marching over to the twins, demanding they release Haruhi's lunch so she could eat. The remaining members of the host club watched in what could only be described as pity as their president was almost stuck with a fork for his troubles.

Thankfully, the blond ducked out of the way just in time.

Unfortunately, the fork landed in someone's soup, splashing it all over the man's face.

The cafeteria fell into a hush. Even the twins ceased arguing, staring in shock as the man slowly picked up his napkin. The soup was in his hair, on his glasses, and all across his suit jacket.

"Mmm… today's consommé… quite tasty." Jin swallowed nervously at the Vice Principal's words, glad that she had pulled Haruhi away from the scene of the crime before it was too late.

Once most of the soup had been wiped away, he spoke again to the dead quiet room, "Alright,  _ who _ threw that fork?"

Sudden movement drew everyone's eyes back to the twins, who were pointing at each other.

But all the Vice Principal saw was Tamaki Suoh standing in between the twins, both of them pointing at him.

"Suoh?! I'm astonished! You, of all people, behaving so irresponsibly! This does not reflect well on the Suoh family name!" Tamaki meekly dropped to his knees, taking the scolding with tears in his eyes. There wasn't anything else he could do, really. The twins had booked it the second they were off the hook. "Since you seem to enjoy making messes, your punishment will be to clean up the entire cafeteria after school!"

At that, Tamaki whimpered, ducking his head even further down. The whole cafeteria? That would take hours! He tried his best not to cry.

Jin felt her heart lurch in sympathy. The punishment wasn't even deserved! Nibbling at her bottom lip, she slowly stood up from her seat. Haruhi tried to pull her back down, but she shook her off.

"Kazama-sensei?" The man turned in surprise towards the girl, who was bowing hurriedly towards him, "I offer my service to assist Tamaki in clean up after school." Tamaki gave his friend a watery smile as another gasp circulated the room, followed by a few whispers.

" _ Isn't that Fujioka-san? The scholarship student? _ "

" _ That's Haruhi's older sister, Jin-senpai! _ "

" _ Wow… what a nice offer! _ "

" _ I wouldn't have expected a scholarship student to directly question Kazama-sensei's punishment… what do you think he's going to say? _ "

To everyone's surprise, the man actually smiled kindly at the girl, "Fujioka-san, was it? Well, it is certainly a noble offer for you to make, but there's no need for you to share the punishment of your classmate."

"We'll help, too!" Hunny and Mori had rushed to join Jin, also bowing. Now the Vice Principal looked shocked. He began to stutter out another insistence to let Tamaki serve his punishment alone when Haruhi and Kyoya also joined. All around the room, the girls were cooing at the scene.

Giving the five of them a quick once over, the man finally nodded his consent, "Very well." He turned to the blond behind him, "I expect you to still remember that this is  _ your _ punishment your friends are now sharing." Receiving a quick nod from the boy, Kazama-sensei finally waved them off to go finish their lunches.

Tamaki was oddly quiet as he slowly munched on his food, only speaking twice over the remaining lunch hour. Once to thank Jin and the others for volunteering to help him after school. And the second was to say he came up with a sign name for Jin. He got it from when he heard someone refer to her as the 'scholarship student'.

They'd have to look up the motion for the word 'intelligent' later on, of course.

*Time Skip*

With the six of them, it only took about forty-five minutes to clean up the cafeteria. Jin couldn't help but think they could've finished sooner if the boys hadn't complained and lagged behind so much, but she kept quiet. They were unaccustomed to such labor. She might as well cut them some slack.

Even though they had closed the club for the day (due to the feud between the Hitachiins) they had all gone to the music room anyways. It wasn't like they had anywhere else to go. The boys were groaning and shifting in their seats as their bodies complained from all the activity. Jin had just enough energy left to grab a slice of cake for Hunny, ruffling his hair as she went, before sitting down.

To her right, Tamaki groaned and sprawled his upper body across the tabletop, "Why is it that  _ the twins _ are fighting, but  _ we're _ the ones getting knocked around? It's so unfair… they didn't even help clean up!" The others hummed their agreement, but Haruhi noticed how Jin's eyes had narrowed once again, her head tilted back to stare at the ceiling.

She elbowed the taller girl, making her look over,  _ When are you going to tell me what you're thinking about? _

_ Not now… not until I'm sure. _

Haruhi scrunched up her nose before rolling her eyes,  _ Fiiiiine. _

"If this situation continues, we'll have to suspend the club's Brotherly Love package. Perhaps indefinitely if this feud isn't solved. There'll be an inevitable decrease in business if we go through with this, of course, and the twins will have a penalty imposed on them to make up for it. It's unlikely they'll be as popular hosting separately as opposed to together, but there's not much we can do with their arguments being so violent. Oh, and Haruhi?"

Kyoya eyed the brunette for a long moment. She was starting to squirm in her seat by the time Jin cleared her throat. The classmates locked eyes for a brief moment before he returned his attention to the younger girl, smiling, "I only meant to say I've determined you bear no real responsibility for this mess. Their reaction to your simple observation was wholly unwarranted. And cafeteria clean-ups are no big deal. Most of us volunteered for it, besides."

Haruhi gave a small nod, but gave her sister another look,  _ Thanks for that. _

_ No problem. It wasn't your fault. Besides, I think he's learning not to mess with me. _

Haruhi cracked a smile when Hunny whined softly, "Hika-chan and Kao-chan have never fought before…and I've known them since they were in kindergarten."

"Wait… ever?"

The small boy shook his head, munching on his treat a little slowly. Usa-chan was tucked up under his left arm, cuddled close. Clearly this fighting between the twins was making the 3rd year student more upset than he'd been letting on.

Tamaki hummed in agreement, despite the fact he hadn't known the twins for as long as the others had, "Ya'know? Ever since I met them, they were always together, not getting too close to anyone else. Probably because they always had each other… maybe they didn't think they'd need anyone else?" He pushed himself to his feet, "Well, if they're separated now, maybe they'll finally expand their horizons? Meet new people, make new friends! Heck, this fight might be a  _ good _ thing-"

He had started walking around the room restlessly, like he usually did, when his foot caught on two separate trip wires. A high-pitched scream tore from the blond's throat as spears shot out from either side of the room, just narrowly missing the president.

For a moment, everyone was frozen in shock. Tamaki's face was white. It didn't even look like he was breathing. A good two dozen spears were littering the floor around him, some just barely a centimeter away from their target.

Then two soft voices hissed from behind a couple of columns, " _ Rats! _ "

" _ YOU JERKS! _ "

The rest of the host club watched as Tamaki chased the twins out of the music room, still too surprised from the sudden attack to move. They turned around in their seats to watch as the three boys became visible through the windows, Hikaru and Kaoru tearing across the lawn with Tamaki in hot pursuit, screaming at them to stop.

Jin blinked, like she couldn't decide between amusement or disappointment, " _ This… _ is 'good thing'?" She stood up and started walking towards the door, Haruhi following immediately.

"Jin-chan?" Hunny set his fork down, "You said we should wait until they cooled down, right?"

"Well, they're obviously  _ not _ going to cool down, Hunny-kun. You said this is their first fight, corrent?" She paused at the doorway, looking over her shoulder at the nodding boys still at the table, "Then that means they don't know when to call it quits, or how to make up. Guess, we'll have to do that for them."

Hunny, Mori, and Kyoya all exchanged a look before following the rest of their club members outside.

* * *

"Well? Are these  _ all _ of the traps, you irritating twits?" Tamaki was shaking in place, his head bowed. He knew he looked like a mess. Two birds were perched on his head and shoulder, there was an outrageous amount of egg yolk on his jacket, and multiple strings, tripwires were tangled around his arms and legs. He wasn't exactly sure how he had managed to stay on his feet the whole time.

Even so, it was almost amusing how they had both set the  _ exact _ same traps.

Standing a few feet away were the twins, who looked upset at all of their traps being sprung on the wrong person. They each pointed at the other, " _ He _ would know, Milord."

They scowled at each other, once again speaking in unison.

Hikaru was the first to scoff and turn away, "Sheesh… this is really starting to tick me off! Kaoru, we may be alike in so many ways, but I'm  _ tired of being mistaken for you! _ In fact… now that I think about it,  _ I hate you! _ "

At that exact moment, the rest of the club ran around the corner. It hadn't been hard to find them. There had been a trail of carnage from the traps for them to follow. Hunny let out a soft gasp at Hikaru's declaration and tucked his face into Mori's shoulder, everyone pausing as well.

For a brief moment, Kaoru's face is one of shock. Then it morphs into unrestrained fury, "OH! You think  _ I _ feel any  _ different? Here! Look! _ " He grabbed something out of his back pocket and held it out in front of him, "I went out and  _ got one!  _ A Beelzenef curse doll!"

Tamaki screeched. Jin tilted her head, eyes narrowing at the wooden cat. Softly, so only Haruhi could hear her, the girl whispered, " _ They're… faking… I thought… _ " Haruhi wasn't given any time to process that idea, Kaoru was already scribbling Hikaru's name on the back of the doll.

"Prepare yourself, Hikaru! Whatever this doll suffers, you'll suffer!"

As one, the Fujioka's hurried forward. Kaoru reeled his arm back, ready to slam the wooden doll into the ground…

Suddenly, the weight that was in his hand was gone. He still threw his arm down with as much force as possible, but now his center of gravity was off. Kaoru stumbled forward, and a sharp smack upside the head sent him into the dirt.

He managed to catch himself before he face planted the ground, the sound of Hikaru shouting in pain as well coming from in front of him. He heard a soft  _ thump _ as his brother also hit the dirt.

"That's quite enough, you two."

Stunned, the red heads couldn't do anything else up stare up at their attackers. Haruhi and Jin were standing over the boys, the wooden curse doll in Jin's hand. They couldn't remember a time the girls had ever looked so angry, at them or otherwise.

Jin's grip on the curse doll tightened, "I thought you two would have far more sense than this."

"You've turned a sibling squabble into a fight to the death! What were you  _ thinking! _ "

"There is  _ never _ a good reason to do something like this when you're fighting! Especially over something so petty and ridiculous!"

"Both of you are at fault here, and acting like idiots is only proving it!"

The girls glared down at the twins, their anger obvious in their eyes and they said in unison, "Now, apologize!"

The twins were still gaping at the girls, as if seeing them for the first time. Jin lifted an eyebrow, attempting to prompt them into movement, but Haruhi groaned in frustration and stomped her foot, "I swear, if you don't make up right now, we'll  _ never _ invite you to our house! Ever!"

As soon as the words left Haruhi's mouth, the twins began to smile. Jin felt the last of the puzzle pieces click into place.

"Oh… you guys  _ were _ faking…"

The twins were on their feet again, wicked grins on their faces and two scripts in hand, "Penny for the smart lady~"

Jin flipped over the doll in her hands. Hikaru's name wasn't on it.

"'Loser'. How kind of you both."

Tamaki fell backwards, dislodging the white doves from his person. Haruhi dropped to her knees and Hunny ran to the twins, lightly pounding his fists on their waists for being so mean. They ignored him in favor of swooning all over each other and apologizing like crazy.

Jin stayed still, frowning at the wooden cat in her hands. There was something  _ crazily familiar  _ about it… but for the life of her, she couldn't place it. It was driving her mad!

"Miss Fujioka?" She glanced over at Kyoya, who had come up to her other side, raising an eyebrow in acknowledgement, "You said earlier that the twins were faking it, before they admitted to it. Why is that?"

"Well, I had a feeling that the fight was fake since the beginning."

"Really?" The rest of the club was staring at her now.

She shrugged, "Eh, I dunno. Something about it didn't feel right to me. I thought that being 'evil' and 'mischievous' was kind of the twin's thing. So, if Haru was saying Hikaru was better at being a Hitachiin twin then Kaoru was, why did Kaoru start laughing? Also, you were bored all day, so with the two of you suddenly having something to do… I dunno." Jin paused for a second, "And we're still not letting you come over to our house."

"What?!"

"She said you had to make up. You were never fighting. Ergo, you never made up."

The twins opened their mouths, probably to rebuke, but shut them again at the deadly look Haruhi was giving them. They supposed the game had been fun enough, anyways.

Pranking Tamaki without his awareness was a big plus, at least.

*The Next Day*

"Alrighty~ It's time for the 'Which One is Hikaru' game!"

The large group of girls around the twins giggled like mad, tittering behind their hands. One girl near the front raised a hand, "Easy! Hikaru has the pink hair!"

"Right again!"

"You ladies are so smart!" More giggling as the twins planted quick kisses to the guest's cheeks. The girl nearly fainted back against her chair, the rest of the group shrieking and rotating around, so everyone could get a turn to answer the question and reap the reward.

" _ Did you guys switch? _ "

The twins spun around, shocked to see the Fujioka girls behind them, smirking. Jin raised an eyebrow, " _ What Haru means is we know Kaoru has the pink hair today. But it's nice to see you being sweet with the girls. _ "

The sisters exchanged a smile before they both wandered off, Haruhi towards her own guests and Jin-

"Jin!"

"Ack!"

The brunette stumbled, one of her hands propping her body against the wall and the other coming up to tug at the arms wrapped around her neck. It took  _ a lot _ of her willpower to not flip Tamaki up and over her shoulder at the sudden death hug.

How did she know it was Tamaki?

Simple. The overzealous crying.

"Um… Tamaki? Could you maybe-" she sank to one knee as the boy stopped holding himself up at all. Jin might be strong, but she wasn't  _ that _ strong. "T-tamaki? What are you-"

"He's upset because he can't think up a sign name for me."

Jin fell to the side slightly, switching hands so her left one was now helping to keep her off the floor while her right was holding the blond's arms away from her neck, "Wha… really? Oh, wait, I never got around to telling you two."

"What?"

"I came up with a sign name for you."

Instantly Tamaki released the girl, hopping to his feet and pulling her along with him, "Really? You did? What is it?"

Jin yanked her hands free, dusting at her pant leg, "I thought it would be obvious." She raised her right hand to her face, her index finger and thumb making a curve that she pressed above and below her eye. Then, she moved it off her face by a few centimeters and back again.

"What was that?"

"Glasses." She dropped the hand, "You're the only one who wears glasses in the host club  _ and _ in the JSL class."

The ravenet slowly closed the journal he was holding, regarding the girl with slightly narrowed eyes, "I am? How did you-"

"That's a perfect name!" Tamaki was repeating the action over and over again, along with Jin's and his own. Then he frowned, "Man… your signs are really similar to each others. Hopefully we don't mess them up in class tomorrow."

Jin smirked, "I think we'll manage."

 


	8. Ouran Theater of Love ~ Suoh Family Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second Ouran Theater of Love~

 

With a rather loud bang, the front door burst open. Tamaki hobbled in, dramatically wiping fake sweat off his forehead. With a groan, the blond fell backwards onto the couch, "Phew! This overtime is killing me!"

At first, it seems as though no one heard his declaration, but then Jin popped her head out of the kitchen, eyebrow raised, "Overtime? What overtime? I'm the only one with an  _ actual _ job in this family."

"Yeah, but I've always wanted to say that."

She shakes her head and returns to the kitchen, where Tamaki follows eagerly. The sink is filled with sudsy water, only a few dirty dishes left from dinner. To the other side of the sink are the wet, clean dishes that still needed to be put away. There's still a faint lingering smell of yummy food in the air, and Tamaki's stomach growled. Despite his over exaggeration of his time at work, he was still hungry.

"Your leftovers are in the fridge when you're ready. Just reheat them for about a minute and a half and you should be good."

Tamaki nodded, pleased, but turned away from the fridge, "I will in a bit, but I need a bath first."

"Yeah-"

"-you stink."

Jin smiled warmly at the twins while the family's 'patriarch' shouted at them, "Hey, boys? Since you're out here why don't you help me with the dishes?" The redheads groaned, but did as they were asked.

Meanwhile, Tamaki began gathering bathtime items. Throwing a towel over his shoulder and a rubber duck into his arms, he reached out for the bathroom handle… and paused. With a sudden brilliant idea, the blond shifted over to the left and opened  _ that _ door instead.

Poking his head into the children's bedroom, he smiled brightly at the brunette he found sitting in there, "Haruhi! Wanna join Daddy for a bath?"

"No… you go ahead." The brunette flipped a page in her textbook, "I'm studying for a test-"

"WAAAAAH! Haruhi's so cold! We always used to bathe together!" Tamaki slid his back down the door frame, cradling the bath items against his chest. Haruhi slammed her hands on her desk in frustration. She had  _ finally _ kicked her brothers out of the room, so she could actually get some work  _ done _ and now  _ this? UGH! _

"We've  _ never _ bathed together! Never! Not  _ once! _ Stop making stuff up and leave me-"

"How about with your brothers, then?" Hikaru and Kaoru poked their heads in, "Saving water-"

"Why should I bathe with anyone? I can do it just fine by myself!"

Back in the kitchen Jin continued to call out for the twins. Her helpers had vanished halfway through drying the dishes, which was, frankly, unacceptable. Frowning, she tossed a dishtowel over her shoulder and marched after them, wanting to see what all the fuss was about.

She watched as Kyoya began leading Haruhi out of the bedroom, the two of them stepping over a sobbing Tamaki, "Now Haruhi, don't let the others rile you up. You can take one with Mommy instead. I'm the mother, after all. And no daughter should have a problem taking a bath with her mother, right?"

"Uh… I dunno… maybe, but…"

Jin watched with wide eyes for a moment, taking in the teary eyed Tamaki and twins, who were falling over themselves trying to stop the other two from walking towards the bathroom. Once the element of surprise wore off, however, she marched over and stuck an arm off, stopping anyone from entering the bathroom. Exchanging a glare with the ravenet, she held out her free hand for the towels and bath things. It took a moment but eventually the other conceded, even removing his hand from Haruhi's shoulder.

With a smug smile, she gently turned Haruhi around and pushed her back to her room, "Go finish studying, Haru, I know you still have some homework to finish. Speaking of which, Hikaru and Kaoru have some unfinished business as well in the kitchen." Another pointed look from Jin and the twins rushed back to complete the dishes, to which she smiled and held the bath supplies out to the blond still on the floor.

"I believe these are yours, Tamaki. You're gonna have to take your bath yourself, it seems, but I suggest you do that sooner rather than later. Because… you really do kinda stink."

 


	9. Episode 6!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Grade School Host is the Naughty Type!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sobs* I'M SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG THESE UPDATES ARE TAKING! I'VE GOT A LOT GOING ON RIGHT NOW BUT I SWEAR I'M STILL TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH MY STORIES JUST BEAR WITH ME!  
> On a happier note, as of this moment I am officially going to Japan for a few weeks this summer! I've also been offered the opportunity to work for my school's writing center (a professor actually recommended me for the position), which might mean I'll have some editing experience to land an Editor job in the future! And an escape from my current crappy job! All good things… all good things...

 "If everyone could get into your places? We'll be opening soon."

Jin's head perked up at Kyoya's voice and she sighed, rolling her shoulders back. The couch was so comfy… and she was tired…

"Fujioka-san? If you wouldn't mind?"

Fighting back a groan of complaint, she stood and stretched, the sleeves of her kaftan slowly slipping down her arms as she reached for the ceiling. Jin relaxed her posture and fixed the satin on her skin, a frown pulling at her lips. While today's cosplay wasn't exactly the worst it could've been, even with the hint of cultural appropriation, Jin wasn't pleased with how _pink_ her clothes were.

Seriously, the brunette was becoming more than a little tired of Tamaki always shoving her into things that were pink or otherwise labeled as "girly". One of these days she was going to have a talk with the boy about _why_ she didn't want to wear the girl's uniform.

"Lookin' good, Nēchan."

The brunette smiled gently at her little sister, carefully adjusting the heavy jewelry around her neck, "Eh. If you say so, Haru."

Before Haruhi could respond, there was a knock at the front door. Immediately the soft discussions ended between the hosts. The boys fixed their usual welcoming smiles at the door, but Jin and Haruhi exchanged a look out of the corner of their eyes.

Haruhi frowned, _I know we've finished setting up, but it's a little early for guests..._

_Exactly. Most everyone knows our schedule. Who could be here so early?_

The doors opened before either one of the girls could ask the question outloud. Much to the host's surprise, the little face of a child poked through the opening. Jin's head tilted to the left, silent as the others around her welcomed the strange... guest. Whoever it was briefly retreated from the door before gathering their courage and walking into the room.

"Is… is this the Host Club?"

Jin faintly heard the twins whispering about the young boy in the room as he approached them. She felt a little bad for him. He looked like an elementary student, based on the uniform, and his cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. She tried to give him an encouraging smile, but the boy wouldn't even look at her.

In fact, he was staring intently at the blond lying in front of the group.

Not one to ignore attention, in any form it presented itself, Tamaki sat up a little on his pillows and beckoned the boy forward, "What's up, kid? You lost? Or did you seek us out for some reason?"

The boy halted, his eyes widening a bit, "You… you're the "king"?"

As one, the rest of the club turned to Tamaki, not quite sure how he would take to being called the 'King'. Or, you know, being called it without the usual mocking undertones.

To no one's surprise, after being granted a moment or two to soak the information in, the blond was consumed in sparkles and gleefully repeating the phrase. Jin raised her eyebrow at her classmate before glancing at the elementary boy. He seemed a little confused as to why Tamaki was prancing about the room.

Feeling bad, because he clearly wanted something from them, she slipped away from the others. The kid didn't realize Jin was approaching until she had crouched down in front of him. He took a step back, cheeks flushing darker in surprise.

"Hello, there. Were you looking for something? Or someone?"

The boy took in a breath, eyes darting towards Tamaki for a split second before nodding, drawing himself up to his full height, "I'm an Elementary Fifth year, Class A, Shiro Takaoji!" Shiro spun around, thrusting a finger at the tall blond, "I seek an apprenticeship with the Host Club King!"

A hush fell over the room, Jin's head jerking back a little at the stern, no-argument tone of voice. All the shyness in the kid, Shiro, had vanished.

"What an unusual request! Of course I'll mentor you, young one!" Tamaki gushed, kneeling before the young boy and taking his hands, "You won't regret this! We'll start right-"

"Tomorrow."

*The next morning*

Haruhi squinted out at the horizon, watching as the pink buildings off in the distance grew larger. She grimaced and shut her eyes, protecting her contacts from the wind. Beneath her feet the bicycle jolted over a crack in the sidewalk. Jin's heavy breath pressed against Haruhi's tight grip around her chest as she pedaled faster, trying to make up for the time lost fighting through the downtown crowds.

The siblings were quiet as they drew closer to the school, Haruhi occasionally stretching herself up to her full height and looking around at the passing scenery. When she was younger she used to sit herself in the basket on the front of Jin's old bike, too focused on the idea of the basket breaking off to really take in the sights.

The day she was tall enough to stand on the pegs on the back wheel was a glorious one.

Too soon for Haruhi's liking they sped through the gates of Ouran Academy. Other students waved as they passed, Jin raising her own hand in greeting while Haruhi readjusted her grip on the two school bags on her arm.

Slowing down to a stop, Jin set her feet down on either side to keep the bike steady as Haruhi hopped off. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed her classmates walking up to the bike rack. Hikaru watched with interest as the elder Fujioka went to lock up the bike while Kaoru greeted the younger.

"Okay, you're clearly curious about something. What's up?"

"Have you ever tried jumping off the bike to dismount?"

"We think it would look cool."

Haruhi shrugged, pulling off her helmet and passing it off to Jin, "I have, but my legs aren't long enough to do it without getting nicked by the back wheel."

"Aww…"

"Can one of us try it then?"

Jin let out a short laugh, still slightly winded from the long journey, "Maybe one day. Oh- thanks." She accepted the school bag being offered to her with a smile. "Or, in sign language-" Jin brought her right hand up to her chin and let it fall again in Haruhi's direction. The smile never faded once, actually spreading onto Haruhi's face as well.

"How _is_ your sign language class going, Nēchan? Are Tamaki-senpai and Kyoya-senpai making it difficult?"

"Actually, not as much as I expected them too. Tamaki might seem airheaded at the club, but in class he's a good student."

"Jin-senpai?" Kaoru interrupted, "What's sign language for bicycle?"

The taller girl thinks for a moment, then made a rotating motion with her hands, like her feet made when she pedaled, "I think… Ah-wait! No… that's ASL… we haven't been taught that word yet, Kaoru. I'll check to see if it's in my textbook, though."

Receiving a disappointed nod in return, Jin lead the 1st-year students indoors. Hikaru broke the silence next, "Well, Milord might be a little less manageable today, Jin-senpai. And he was probably badgering Kyoya-senpai all of last night for sending Shiro home yesterday, so you could have two grouchy classmates for the price of one."

Jin grimaced, but nodded. Tamaki had _not_ been a happy camper at the club yesterday when his mentoring opportunity was postponed. But still… as much as it pained Jin to think it, Kyoya had been smart to hold off on letting Shiro into the club. They simply hadn't been prepared to have the young boy there.

"Well, does anyone know how today's going to go down? Or at least a guess?"

Hikaru shrugged, "Dunno all the details, yet-"

"-but Milord wants the kid to have a strictly observational spot today. No interactions."

"Really?" Jin popped a cherry jolly rancher into her mouth, "I didn't expect that. I figured he was one of those… 'learn on the job' types. But it makes sense. Shiro's just a little kid… it would probably be awkward if he attempted to flirt with high school students."

Haruhi lightly elbowed her sister's side for attention and raised an eyebrow. _Do you really think this is going to end well? Bringing a kid into the Host Club?_

_So long as Tamaki isn't overtly… himself… then this might be okay._

She got a blank stare in return.

_Well, less of a disaster at least._

*Time Skip*

 _Less of a disaster, huh Nēchan?_ Haruhi raised an eyebrow at the scene, more than a little uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if it was secondhand embarrassment or her own personal morals, but either way Haruhi wasn't pleased.

"That poor kid… why is Tamaki making him _stare_ at them like that?"

Kyoya looked up from his journal to see what Haruhi was talking about. It wasn't hard to deduce what was upsetting the girl. Over at Tamaki's table for the afternoon Shiro's face was only a handful of centimeters away from his "mentor" and the client he was currently attending to.

"Hm… it would appear that this is Tamaki's first lesson for Shiro. He was given a rather long spiel earlier about how a woman's beauty increases the closer you are to them."

"Geez, this isn't going to end well." Jin walked up from behind the two, casually resting an elbow of her sister's shoulder, "If there's one thing I know about elementary school children, it's that they're brutally honest about their own personal thoughts."

Kyoya raises an eyebrow at the girl, "And where have you been? I've heard a few of the guests today wondering why they hadn't seen you walking around the room for the past hour. I don't recall anyone sending you out on an errand?"

Jin gave the boy a rather cold look out of the corner of her eye before responding, "I was in the kitchen."

"And why is that? I certainly hope you haven't been neglecting your duties."

She rolled her eyes, "I didn't _have_ anything else to do, Ohtori-san, that's the _point._ With Haru serving the tea and cakes until her guests arrive I got bored waiting around for something to do. So I gave myself a chore."

"Which was?"

"Don't get your pants in a twist, I just reorganized your tea and coffee cabinets."

Just then the young boy they were watching made a rather rude comment about Tamaki's guest (something about looking like a carp) and the sister's lost interest in their own conversation. But as they watched the scene like someone would watch a car wreck, they completely missed how intently Kyoya was staring at Jin.

She had been _bored_ … so she reorganized their _cabinets? Willingly?_ The last time he'd done that on his own it had taken him _hours_ and he never bothered with it again!

 _Who_ is _this girl?_

"Shouldn't someone go after her and make sure she's okay?"

At the question Kyoya blinked himself back into reality, "There's no need, Fujioka-san. She'll be back once Shiro stops hanging around. Besides, it's time for the guests to rotate anyways. Anyone who witnessed the scene is sure to comfort Yamashita-san." As if Kyoya have given them a command, the guests stood up and ran after the crying girl. The music room was quiet for a moment before the next wave of guests arrived.

Upon spotting her own clients, Haruhi went to go to her table when Kyoya stopped her. "Haruhi? Would you mind assisting your sister in replacing the tea sets? Your guests will be entertained without you for a few moments, I'm sure."

Noticing that her guests were, in fact, screaming their lungs out over Hikaru and Kaoru's latest "brotherly-love" act, Haruhi nodded and grabbed a tray from the nearest table.

Jin gently nudged Haruhi's back, "You take the left side of the room. Hopefully we'll get this done fast."

"Hm." Nodding along, the shorter of the two sisters started skirting around the ring of cheering fangirls. _Man… I should invest in noise-cancelling headphones. These girls are just way too loud._

" _Perverts!_ "

"Wha- woah!" Haruhi gasped, her heart stopping momentarily in her chest until the teacups stopped rattling on her tray. Letting out a breath she turned to the panting Shiro at her side, "What's the matter, Shiro? Do you… oh, wait, I think I get it. Not used to their sales pitches?"

The boy stared up at her, shaking his head from side to side after a moment of hesitation. Haruhi smiled softly, "Don't worry about it. Most of their acts are all show for the girls, even if it is kinda weird. You'll get used to it after a while. Promise."

Shiro blinks, then raises a finger to point at her face, "Are you gay?"

"…Eh?"

"Okay! It's time for the next part in Shiro's training! Haruhi? Hand the nice boy your tea tray!"

From across the room Jin shakes her head with a smile, carefully placing another used teacup onto her own tray. Tamaki and the twins were frantically trying to steer Shiro's attention away from her little sister. _Looks like Haruhi's "He's a boy!" steering committee is still alive and well._ Knowing she would no doubt have to diffuse a few fires, Jin left her own tray on the table for a moment and began walking over.

Haruhi managed to shake the boy's hands off her after a few seconds, offering the tray to Shiro with care, "Well, I guess they want you to carry this now. Keep a good grip on it, it's kinda heavy… good! Now follow me to-"

_CRASH_

The entire room froze at the sound of shattering glass. Jin's mouth falls open in shock. Shiro hadn't even _tried_ to hold the tray! The moment Haruhi's hands left the handles everything was on the floor! Such a mess…

"Haruhi? That's another 1,000 yen to your debt."

"What?"

"Wait a minute, Ohtori-san. That's hardly fair-"

"Geez, what are you all complaining about? We can just wipe it up with this." Shiro casually threw a large yellow fabric onto the tea spill, using his foot to help absorb the liquid without touching the broken glass with his hands.

Kyoya's lower eyelid twitched, "I see that our new, special-order curtains serve more than one purpose…" He glares when he hears a poorly muffled laugh, " _What?_ "

"Karma~" Jin offers a bright smile before it dims, watching as Shiro gives Hunny a rather catty comment about looking than Shiro, "But I have to admit… he's a downright rotten kid."

Kyoya opened his mouth to respond when the sound of shattering glass reached his ear. He spun around, nearly knocked to the side by Jin as she ran towards the scene. It would appear that Shiro, upon being spooked by Mori-senpai, had taken to throwing things at the tall boy out of fear.

Jin managed to push herself into the line of fire, snagging a plate out of the air, "Woah, woah! Hold the phone, buddy!"

"Move over, _lady!_ I can't get a clear shot! What are you doing out here anyway? I thought you worked the kitchen- _HEY!_ "

In the space of five seconds, Jin's face abruptly hardened and she picked Shiro up by the back of his school jacket. With minimum effort, she hung the boy up like a picture frame on the wall and stepped back before he could hit her with his flailing feet. The hosts stare in shock.

"Hey! Let me down, lady! You can't do this to me!"

"Oh, yes I can. Now you can't cause any more trouble."

Tamaki was the first to regain his bearings, nodding slightly in approval before sitting down at a nearby table, "Pipe down, brat. We don't have time to play your childish games. Jin? Tea?"

"Please." Jin sat across from her classmate, calmly stroking Hunny's hair as he crawled into her lap. Clearly, Shiro's earlier comment had gotten to him. She pulled a slice of cake closer for the boy to nibble on.

On the wall Shiro was still frantically squirming around, "Nnngh! I'm being serious about this! Let me down!"

"Oh, I'm sure you're serious. Serious about making a mess and disrespecting people. You haven't listened to a single one of my lessons and have been rude ever since you arrived. What about that means 'serious' to you?"

"But… but…" Shiro slowed his kicks, head tucking into his chest, "I don't have much time… I gotta learn how to make women happy. Aren't you the expert, King? Can't you teach anyone?"

Hook, line, and sinker.

Jin rolled her eyes as Tamaki fluidly rises from his chair, "Hmph… maybe you _are_ serious. To some extent, at least. But if we're going to properly train you, then we need to find how to best utilize your personal resources."

Haruhi propped her elbow on her own table, flapping her hand to mimic Tamaki blabbing nonsense, much to Jin's amusement.

"Let's see… for you… I'd recommend "Wild-Kid style"! A type of Shota!"

The twins popped out of their seats and immediately began assisting the club president. Jin sat back in her chair, watching the scene over the lip of her teacup. Her eyes narrowed as Tamaki continued to ramble on about the "Wild-Kid style".

Wearing shorts, even in winter.

_Isn't that cold?_

Scrapes on knees and cheeks to enhance wildness.

_At least they're only drawing them on…_

"Now run! Run wild! C'mon, full out! Good… now fall! Fall _hard!_ " Those watching the scene winced in sympathy as the poor kid tripped, seemingly over nothing, and hit the tile. Jin physically gasped as Shiro slide across the floor a couple inches before coming to a stop. _Damn… he probably has burns now._

A nearby group of girls fumbled in their conversation at the loud noise, looking over at the young boy on the floor. They exchanged glances before one of them shifted closer, "Um… are you alright, little fella? That was some fall."

Tamaki cupped his hands around his mouth, "Your line! Your line, Shiro!"

"I'm… fine…"

Jin bites her lip as Shiro sits up and turns away from the guest. The boy's face was scuffed up and dirty. There were red marks on his skin from sliding across the floor, and if she were sitting closer Jin was sure she'd be able to spot tears of pain growing in his eyes. She stands up, hurrying over to the table next to hers. As Tamaki and the twins offer Shiro either congratulations, Jin leaned down next to Kyoya's seat, "Kyoya, quick. Do we have a first aid kit around here? Shiro looks-"

"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU IDIOTS! I wanna _learn!_ But you won't take me _seriously!_ "

Jin straightened up, "Shiro!"

"Hey, Shiro! Wait! There are other types-"

_SLAM!_

The room went silent, stunned by the sudden noise that still echoed around the walls. The guests relaxed first, casually returning to their own personal conversations. The dull chatter helped to ease the tension in the room, prompting the hosts back into movement.

Tamaki crossed his arms, an afronted expression on his face, "Hmm, guess "wild" wasn't his thing after all. But why did he run out for no reason? Weird kid."

"Are you _kidding_ me?" The blond was abruptly spun around, bringing him face to face with a rather angry brunette, "Your reckless "teaching" got him _hurt_ , Tamaki! What the hell? And you're blaming _Shiro_ for not wanting to hang around?"

At her classmate's shocked expression, Jin ran her fingers through her hair, seemingly unable to continue speaking. Tamaki couldn't do much but blink, not sure how to respond to Jin's outburst. He jumped when another voice piped up from behind him.

"I think what Nēchan is trying to say is that Shiro's response was the most normal reaction I've ever seen to your usual "techniques", Tamaki-senpai. Besides, you completely missed the point of Shiro even being here because you let the flattery go to your head."

"Huh?" Tamaki wasn't used to this kind of tag-team against him.

Jin rolled her eyes, "Shiro was really desperate to learn from you, Tamaki. Did you ever stop to wonder if that was for a specific reason?"

The other boys turned to stare at the club president, their eyes suddenly bright with understanding. Tamaki narrowed his eyes, puzzle pieces slowly fitting into place as he turned back to the front doors. He tapped a finger against his chin.

"Hmm…"

*Time Skip*

 _Ah man… why did we have to do it this way?_ Haruhi tugged at the fabric around her legs, more than a little uncomfortable. She looked down to check that the skirt was at her knees and a lock of fake hair fell in front of her face. She huffed, hastily tucking the hair back behind her ear. She was _not_ a happy camper! _I know it's meant to be a disguise so we can sneak around… but why did they put me in a middle school outfit? I look no less out of place than I would've with my regular uniform!_

"C'mon, Haru-chan! This way!" The small blond by her side grabbed Haruhi's sleeve and began pulling her down the hallway. All around them the _actual_ elementary students whispered among themselves, wondering what a middle school student was doing at their school. Haruhi felt her face flush out of embarrassment. _Hunny-senpai is a very convincing elementary student, so_ his _disguise makes sense. But why was I forced to come here dressed up even when I can't manage a younger appearance? I stick out like a sore thumb!_

A few archways behind them, the remaining members of the host club watched as Hunny and Haruhi walked as casually as they could down the hall. They stared in silence until the two rounded a corner, prompting Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru to squeal about how cute Haruhi looked in a skirt and long hair. She even had a pretty bow around her neck!

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at the idiocy of it all before looking behind him. Jin had clearly not been convinced by Tamaki's earlier explanation. Surely, now that his intentions were out in the open…

But Jin wasn't even paying attention. She was standing a few paces away from the rest of the group, crouched down in front of two elementary girls with a big smile on her face. She propped her chin against her fist, seemingly enraptured by the girl's questions about her uniform. Apparently they were fascinated by the fact she was wearing pants instead of a skirt.

_...Who even is this girl?_

"C'mon, men! Forward!"

At the sound of her classmate, Jin stood up to follow her club, waving at the girls, "I gotta go, but it was lovely talking to you! Bye!"

"Bye, Jin-senpai!"

"Bye-bye!"

Jin let out a little laugh before moving to catch up with the group. To her surprise, Kyoya was staring at her. "What?"

"You-" Kyoya cut himself off, staring down at the girl now tugging at Jin's jacket. It was one of the same girls the brunette had been talking to not a few seconds ago. She looked worried.

"The art teacher is coming! You better hide!"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. As… sweet as the warning was, it was unlikely that they'd get into trouble simply for being in the elementary school. A number of siblings visited each other on occasion, and certain high schoolers who were contemplating futures in teaching were invited to the elementary school to help out with after-school activities.

Before he could say so, however-

"Scatter!"

Kyoya gasped as a hand grabbed his upper arm and he was forced backwards into a small, dark space. His back collided uncomfortably with what felt like shelves, forcing a grunt of pain out between his lips. As he opened his mouth to call Tamaki an idiot, the breath was knocked out of his lungs as someone either ran or was thrown into his chest.

The door shut, leaving the two in darkness save for the thin strip of light shining by the floor. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, Kyoya tried to push the other person away, only for their back to press against the door. Was the room really that small?

" _Ow! Stop that, there's no room!_ "

At the voice, Kyoya's blood ran cold. He quickly dropped his hands.

" _Jin?_ "

" _...Kyoya?_ "

Immediately the two attempted to shift away, but found that they still couldn't. Kyoya was glad that it was dark. He clears his throat, " _Fujioka-san, could we maybe attempt to rotate?_ "

" _What?_ "

" _There are what I assume to be janitorial supplies digging into my lower back in this position._ "

There's a brief silence before Kyoya feels a pair of hands on his shoulders, steering him to the right. With only a few stepped-on toes and kicked shins, the two managed to spin around enough that their backs were pressed against the cement walls. It still wasn't completely comfortable, but better than the sharp digging from earlier.

That being said… the two were still pressed against each other, chest to chest. Every breath gave the two a whiff of either strawberry shampoo or expensive cologne. Their eyes had finally adjusted to the little light they had, and if the two bothered to look at each other they'd both see rather intense blushes across their cheeks.

Jin briefly flicked her eyes forward and back down, beyond embarrassed to find herself at eye-level with the boy's lips. _Has Kyoya always been this tall? God… if Dad saw me right now he'd have a heart attack._

" _I'm going to kill Tamaki when he lets us out._ "

The boy makes a low sound in his chest that Jin can actually _feel_ , oh god. " _Nothing's forcing you to stay in here._ "

" _Nothing but the art teacher seeing me stumbling out of a closet with a boy in it._ "

Kyoya's cheeks burn brighter, but his following comment dies on his tongue at the sound of heavy footsteps from the hallway. The sound grows louder as the teacher approaches their hiding spot. Kyoya feels Jin lean as far back as she can away from him. Trying to mimic the action, Kyoya goes to lean back when his foot slips. Letting out a soft gasp, he manages to catch himself using the wall next to Jin's face. The girl gasped as well, two hands coming up in an attempt to steady her classmate.

Their eyes are wide as they stare at the line of light at the bottom of the door. The footsteps had slowed to a stop right outside, casting two shadows across the closet floor. Jin's hands shook from their spot on Kyoya's waist. Neither of them dared to breathe.

"Good afternoon, Nii-sensei!"

"Oh, good afternoon, Miwa-san. Nomi-san. I don't suppose you girls know why I heard a commotion down here a few moments ago?"

"That? Akinari was running late for his club meeting. He forgot about it until Nomi reminded him!"

"Ah! I thought I heard his voice! That was very kind of you Nomi-san, to help a fellow student. Well, I must be going. Have a lovely day."

"Bye, Nii-sensei!"

"See you tomorrow!"

The two high schoolers didn't breathe again until the footsteps start up again and begin to fade. Jin collapses a little, her head falling back against the wall. Kyoya bows his head, nearly resting it against her shoulder.

" _It was wise of you to befriend those two girls._ "

The hands drop from his waist abruptly, " _I'm glad you approve. Now, can you please move your hand?_ "

He does, pretending like he wasn't blushing yet again, " _You weren't complaining about it until just now._ "

In the faint light of the closet, Kyoya watches as Jin pushes herself back up to her full height, only a few centimeters below his own. He barely managed to move his head back before his lips brushed at her forehead. As she moved she muttered under her breath, " _One universe, nine planets, seven seas, seven continents, eight hundred nine islands, two hundred four countries, and I had the unfortunate luck of meeting you._ "

Well… he hadn't expected that.

" _... As impressive as that was, there are only eight planets._ "

Her head jerked up, "Viva la Pluto!"

More than a little thrown off guard by the abrupt volume change, Kyoya's heart nearly stopped dead in his chest as the closet door opened. Upon spotting Mori-senpai at the opening he held a hand to his chest, willing the organ to resume beating.

Jin smiled and offered a hand to the taller boy, silently asking for assistance. Mori raised his eyebrows at the small space the two 2nd-years were crammed into before carefully helping Jin out, the brunette trying not to step on Kyoya's feet. He was quick to follow, hoping to put as much space between himself and the closet as possible. It didn't help that Hikaru and Kaoru were snickering as they watched Jin and Kyoya fix their rumpled uniforms.

Before he could say anything, Tamaki was running down the hallway, "Come on, everyone! We have to find Haruhi!"

"And Hunny-kun," Jin offered softly before turning to Miwa and Nomi with another bright smile, "Thank you so much for helping us!"

The girls giggled and waved as the girl and her friends hurried down the hallway.

It wasn't hard finding class 5-A. Mostly because Mori, Kyoya, and the twins had all had the classroom when they were fifth-year elementary students, but partially due to Hunny-senpai playing a recorder that had been left lying around.

"Are you out of your _mind?!_ "

_Pweeet~_

Haruhi yanked the instrument out of the boy's mouth just as Kaoru let out a low whistle of his own, "Wow, talk about nostalgia! Wonder if my desk doodles are still here…"

"They won't. The school replaces the desks every year."

Haruhi shook her hands in the group's direction, begging them to shut up, but they didn't seem to notice or care. She spun around, quietly asking Jin for help. Only…

She tilted her head, _Hey, you okay?_

Jin jolted, her cheeks flushing, _Yeah._

_What happened?_

Jin's eyes darted to the side, abruptly cutting off the conversation by glaring heatidly at the boy's direction. _Ah._ Haruhi was ready to ask which boy it had been this time when a particular sound stopped her in her tracks.

Shoes on tile.

Jin darted to the door while Haruhi spun around, " _Guys, quiet down! Someone's coming!_ " She stomped her foot for attention before drawing her thumb and forefinger across her mouth, " _Hey! Zip it, idiots!_ "

Thank goodness, that seemed to do the trick. The seven watched with bated breath, and more than a few red faces, as Jin peeked around the doorframe and down the hall. They couldn't see her expression, but almost immediately her shoulders relaxed and she straightened her back.

To the club's surprise, when Jin turned back to them there was a warm smile on her face. Pressing a finger to her lips to indicate quiet, she used her other hand to gesture for them to duck down behind the desks. Confused, but not willing to argue, they crouched down, watching the brunette through the legs of the desks. Once they were hidden from the view of the doorway, Jin, like a lunatic, spun on her heel and walked out of the room. Haruhi's mouth dropped open, just barely managing to refrain from calling out after her sister. And a good thing too.

"Excuse me? Who are you? Why are you here?"

" _Should we go after her?_ " Tamaki's eyes were wide, his pupils small as he looked around at the others. Perhaps if they went out there to help Jin explain the situation...

Haruhi nibbled at her bottom lip, " _No… Nēchan wanted us to hide. Let's wait._ "

The seven watched the doorway, going silent once again as Jin and the teacher approached the door, their conversation filtering into the room.

"I'm sorry for my sudden manner, but I'm looking for an elementary student who came to visit my club this afternoon. His name is Shiro Takaoji… is the name familiar to you?"

The pair had now moved past the door, not close enough for the hidden hosts to hear the teacher's response. They couldn't help but feel a little worried. Had Jin allowed herself to be caught in order to find Shiro after his classroom turned up empty? Was she in trouble? It was hard to decipher the man's tone of voice. Tamaki mentally found himself regretting coming here.

Haruhi was the first to move as the sounds of her sister and the teacher faded even further. Poking her head out the door, she watched in concern as the pair turned a corner, "They're gone. C'mon! We can't lose them!"

Always keeping a full hallway in between the two groups, the hosts managed to keep themselves hidden as the teacher lead Jin further into the school. After going up a staircase and down another short hallway, they watched as Jin was ushered into a room with glass windows lining the wall between it and the hallway.

As soon as the door was shut the seven slipped over and peeked inside. It was a music room, one very unlike their own with multiple pianos and various instruments piled around. There were roughly two dozen children roaming around, pouring over workbooks or sheet music or practicing new notes on their instrument of choice.

"Hey, I see Shiro!"

"And there's Nēchan!"

The others followed Haruhi's pointed finger to the far left of the classroom. She's… _smiling._ And so is the teacher who lead her through the school. They watched in awe as the older man clapped a hand on her shoulder before turning to the young students in front of him. He must be the music teacher at Ouran elementary.

Kaoru leaned against the wall, his chin resting on his fist, "How is it that Jin-senpai just _magically_ makes everyone like her? Or, well…" He cast a glance over his shoulder, where Kyoya was watching the scene with a blank face, "Almost everyone."

His brother casually bumped their knees, "I dunno, Kaoru. Kyoya-senpai looked awful comfortable being that closet with her. Jin-senpai might just be working her charm a little _too_ well."

"Shut up! Shiro-chan's talking to someone!"

Sure enough, on the other side of the room Shiro was perched on the window seat, chatting calmly with a little girl holding up sheet music. From the looks of it… given how she offered the sheet music to him, she wanted them to play the piece together. Tamaki frowned slightly at the back of the group, his eyebrows gravitating towards each other as Shiro waved her off towards he piano.

The girl gives Shiro a smile before setting her things at the grand piano. Her feet swing a little above the floor as she begins to play, her smile disappearing as she focuses on the music in front of her.

She sounded very talented… and Shiro looked positively entranced.

"Excuse me, Miss…"

"Oh!"

The others spun around at the new voice, watching as Tamaki whipped a pretty white rose out of nowhere and offer it to a young girl who had been walking down the hallway.

"Do you happen to know the girl playing the piano?"

The little girl blushed as she took the flower, cautiously sniffing it while glancing through the windows, "Um… yeah. That's Hina Kamishiro. She's really nice… but her family's moving next week to Germany, because of her father's job. We're throwing a 'Going-away' party for her next Friday…" She ducked her head, looking embarrassed for some reason. "Thank you for the flower, but I'm late for math club."

The host club watched as the little girl hurried away, still clutching the rose to her chest. Tamaki crossed his arms, eyes far away as he hummed to himself.

"Do you think that's why-"

"What's going on out here?! What're you guys doing here?"

Haruhi jumped, almost falling down on her butt at Shiro's loud, angry voice. The boy's entire face was beet red, hands clenched into fists at his side. Tamaki hummed at the back of his throat and took a step towards the young boy.

But Jin got there first.

With minimum effort, the brunette appeared in the doorway and scooped the kid up and under her arm. Shiro let out a shrill sound of indigition, flailing rather wildly as she began carrying him down the hallway with a blank face. Through the window the teacher she had been talking to for the past ten minutes was watching sadly, but made no move to assist his student.

Shiro attempted to kick the girl's leg, "Stop it! What're you- Put me down!"

"Oh, I will, but you're gonna hear us out, first."

"Put me down, I said! Now!"

"Zip it, you!" Tamaki was now walking beside Jin, his hands in his pockets as he stared straight forward, "Listen to me, you little moron! You said you wanted to learn how to make women happy? Don't make me laugh! You were _never_ interested in that!"

"Hey!"

Jin stopped in the middle of an empty hallway, cutting off the boy under her arm, "You only ever cared about making _one_ girl happy. Kamishiro-san."

Shiro stopped. He stared at the ground for a moment before glancing up at the girl carrying him. Her voice had been soft and gentle when she said the girl's name. Not accusing. Almost sad.

Tamaki sighed, rubbed at his forehead as he went to stand in front of the two, "I'm afraid there's no blanket method for something like that, buddy. You gotta figure it out for yourself."

Shiro stared up at the blond before going limp, letting his arms and legs dangle without purpose, "So what? Time's run out… I just wanted to watch her play before she moves."

Tamaki stared down at the young boy for a few more seconds before making his way down the hall, back they way they came earlier, "C'mon, everyone. Back to the music room. Jin, bring Shiro with. We've got some work to do before Friday afternoon."

Jin casually readjusted her grip on the boy before following after her classmate. Shiro certainly didn't seem to mind. Jin was glad Haruhi was hanging out at the back of the group. The last thing they needed was a big-mouthed kid spotting her in a uniform for females.

"Fujioka-san?"

She stiffened, glancing at the boy now on her left, "Yeah?"

"I am curious, why did you allow yourself to be caught by the music teacher? How did you know you would not get into trouble."

"Oh, that? I know him. That was Kagome-sensei, and he was my piano teacher for years. I was introduced to him because I used to take piano lessons when I was younger until… I stopped. Didn't have a great teacher. But Kagome-sensei is a fantastic teacher. I'd almost call him a friend… Anyways, I haven't had the chance to catch up with him since I got back from America, so it was a happy accident that he happened to be walking by the classroom we were in! When I told him I was looking for Shiro, here, he was happy to lead me to the classical music club."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow as she explained, giving the limp boy under her arm a glance when she finished, "And what if Shiro had spotted you in the room?"

"What if he spotted _you?_ Oh, wait… he _did._ "

The ravenet didn't bother to respond. _This girl is_ infuriating. _Who the hell_ is _she?_

*That Friday*

Hina looked up and down the hallway she was standing in before back down at the pretty invitation in her hands. Yes… she had the time and place right… but it was still nerve-wracking to be in the high school all the same. She'd never been before. Everything just looked so… _big._

Willing up her courage, she reached forward and knocked. It wasn't a very loud knock, but the following sound of the door bolt sliding out definitely was. The white wood moved inward to reveal a rather glamorous scene.

Hina's cheeks flushed as she was welcomed inside by a bunch of high schoolers. They offered her kind smiles. Called her a _princess!_ There was the pretty brunette girl she had seen in the music room last Monday, too! She gave Hina an especially bright grin.

The tall blond boy stepped forward, gently steering Hina further into the music room, "Thank you for joining us, Princess. Today's main event… is a piano recital by Shiro Takaoji… and _you,_ Princess."

Hina heard the gasp escape her mouth before the joy overtook her. Smiling so wide her cheeks were already starting to hurt, she practically ran for the empty chair. She'd already wanted to play with Shiro! The piano was gorgeous, and the sheet music for the latest song she had been learning was already on the stand! And the best part? Shiro gave her a big smile before they started playing!

Nearby, the eight high school students smiled at the scene.

It had certainly been a hectic week getting Shiro ready for this recital. The boy had been so wrapped up in his emotions and denial of said emotions that he hadn't practiced playing for weeks! Thankfully, the boy regained his skill quickly, and the song sounded even more beautiful when accompanied by two friends playing from the heart.

Tamaki casually reached over and gave his female classmate a one-armed side hug, silently thanking her once again for helping him with giving Shiro a crash-course on the duet. Jin smiled, giving Tamaki's arm a brief squeeze of her own before letting him release her. It was a good day. _Good deeds, good times…_ She glanced at the blond out of the corner of her eye, _And… good friends._

The elementary students were grinning to themselves as they continued, both boy and girl losing themselves to the music they were creating. Jin shut her eyes, wrapping her arms around Haruhi's shoulders as she sank into the pretty sounds.

Kyoya had a hard time looking away from the back of Jin's head. Occasionally he'd watch the recital, but his attention never lasted for long.

_How did she win over Tamaki's gentle, genuine friendship so quickly? His overzealous friendliness is one thing, but actual friendship?_

_Who the hell_ is _this girl?_

*Time Skip*

"So you and that girl in Germany write to each other every day?"

"Sure do… but you know, I think she's kinda the jealous type. So let's keep the time I'm spending with you beautiful onēchans a secret, okay?"

As one, all the girls sitting around Shiro burst into squeals. The elementary boy sat further back in his seat, the vision of pure confidence and relaxation. And who could blame him? He hadn't even been in the music room for five minutes and he was surrounded by high school girls gushing about how cute he was and the novelty of him calling them 'older sisters'.

"Just like with Haruhi and Jin-senpai!"

"Oh! I get why Jin gets so happy when Haruhi calls her that now!"

The girls were blissfully unaware of the club's President practically seething nearby, eyes dancing with the flames of rage, "How _dare_ he! Those are my guests! He's not even a real host!"

"Heh, I guess all your training really paid off, _King._ " Shiro shoots a positively _even_ look at the blond over his shoulder, "I don't know what your deal is. Entertaining women is easy!"

The twins just barely managed to dive forward in time to hold Tamaki back.

"Please calm down, Milord!"

"No! This isn't how it should go!"

"Woah there!"

"Call my lawyers!"

Haruhi leaned against her older sister, an odd mixture of amused and apathetic about the scene in front of her, "This place just gets weirder and weirder. So, is this going to become a regular thing?"

"No." Jin threaded her fingers through Haruhi's hair, placing her chin on top of them, "I went back to chat with Kagome-sensei during free period today and he said he's going to give Shiro more pieces at the classical music club. Shiro won't have much free time to wander into our neck of the woods. But, then again, Tamaki will have another one of these mood shifts again sooner or later.

"True..." Haruhi shook Jin's hands off her head in order to smile up at her, "Besides...at least one good thing came out of all this nonsense!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Kyoya-senpai rarely takes his eyes off you, now."

"...The twins told you we got thrown into the closet together, didn't they?"

"Maybe."

Jin scowled, pushing Haruhi enough to make her stumble, "Little jerks… All of you."

Haruhi laughs, wrapping her older sister into a hug that Jin returned regardless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you like this chapter! Sorry it took so long… I'm having a stressful semester. I have at least 3 papers due every week, and that's not including the extra readings, homework assignments, exams, and I'm just dying in general.  
> ...It's casual.


End file.
